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The Walmsley
Family can be found by following
this link.
The Petre family
can be found by following
this link.
Although not officially located in Rishton, the
Dunkenhalgh Hall, and Manor house, has played a major part in the history
of Rishton, its people, its buildings, and its character,
and still does into the 21st Century.
It is believed that a Scottish raider settled here in
1332? named Duncan. It is believed that this is were the name of the Hall
comes from. The area was first known as Dunkensale in the early 1200's.
In 1332 Henry de Rishton of Sidebeet bought the
Dunkenhalgh manor from William de Dunkensale. At this time the Dunkenhalgh
was nothing more that a small freehold estate, similar to the one held by
the family in Rishton, but its importance lay in the fact that it adjoined
the Powthalgh estate, which was still in the hands of the elder line of
the same family.1
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In 1452 Henry de Rishton tells us that the manor now
consists of four parts; 3 belonging to Edmund Talbot, and the other "is
the inheritance and ryght of the said beseker". The four parts are "oxgange (1 oxgange = 15 acres)lande and line mene (lies
common) dalte in lande doles and medew doles, saving the Townhey that
lieth undisservered". The Townhey is the only common block, or field,
mentioned at any time. This field was the heyfield until the 1st of August
each year, when it became the common land for all the cattle on the
estate.1
1245 Gilbert de Rishton settled in Rishton about
this time, in the manor of
Holt,
rather than the Dunkenhalgh. The Rishtons acquired the Dunkenhalgh estate
through marriage, of Henry De Rishton in 1366. It was sold to Judge
Walmsley in 1582. He was a judge of the common pleas, was knighted and was
granted a priest by Queen Elizabeth for his private chapel at Dunkenhalgh.
His son Thomas, was knighted by James 1 on the occasion of his visit to
Houghton Tower. Dunkenhalgh became a garrison house and played a
conspicuous part in the civil war.
Rishton acquisition of property at Studley in
Warwickshire in the 15c.
The 1st
Rishton family was outlawed and estate forfeited. He
invited a friend to dinner, William de Mellor, were
the stoup passed to freely. A game of dice was
proposed after the meal and ended in a quarrel, in the
course of which Gilbert drew “kniphum suum” and
stabbed William beneath the breast, so that he died
immediately. Gilbert escaped and His Majesty's Justices
wanted to know why, and why an innocent man was trying
to be framed.
The Rishton's were
disposed in favour of the more powerful Yorkshire
family of Talbot of Bashall in Craven. This created
bitter feuding and lawsuits, accentuated in the 15th
c by political partisanship. On the outlawry of a
Lollard Talbot under Henry v they recovered Rishton,
only to have the cup snatched away from their lips. By
the end of the century they had given up, accepting a
small compensation in land, and started quarrelling
amongst themselves. The only Rishton who entered the
service of a Talbot received marks of esteem but
proved to be a heartless villain.
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At the beginning of the
13th c Rishton was held by Roger de Rishton, and after him by his son
Adam. Their tenure
ended, it is not known how, before 1242, when Gilbert,
son of Henry, the progenitor of all the later Rishton's, paid scutage for the manor. From other
sources it appears his father was Henry de Blackburn.
Somewhat earlier there
was a married rector of one of the medieties of the
rectory of Blackburn, just before church legislation put an
end to hereditary rectories, who bore that name, with
his sons Gilbert and Adam attested by the deed before
1208. There was however another and more important
family of the same name in the district, whose head in
1212 was Henry de Blackburn. They held the mesne
manors of Wiswell (with Hapton etc) and Lower Darwen,
and as Gilbert de Rishton is recorded to have
released all claim in those manors to John de Blackburn he may perhaps have belonged to this lay
family. (this identification would remove the
difficulty of reconciling the details of Gilberts
murder of his friend c1255 with his age, which must
have been upwards of 60. the close relations of later Rishton's and
Talbots with Blackburn are explained by
its being the head of the hundred and containing their
parish church.
Their burial place was in the chapel of Saint John the Baptist on the south side of the chancel,
more often referred to as the Rishton, or Talbot, or
Walmsley, or Holt chapel. Here in accordance with his
will, Henry de Rishton was buried in 1428. when sir
Thomas Walmsley bought the manor of Rishton and
proposed to use most of the chapel as a family
mausoleum, John Talbot of Salesbury claimed the rights
of his kinsmen, the Talbots of Bashall and Rishton
(who 50 years earlier had refused his
branch any share in it!!) in this part of the church.
The consistory court at Chester decided (2nd
November 1612) that the chapel should be divided
equally between the two. The judges splendid monument
was erected there.
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Rishton came to Gilbert,
we are told in the pleadings of much later dates, as
the marriage portion of his wife Margery, sister of
Robert de Praers. Of this Robert and his tenure of
Rishton under the Lacies of Clitheroe nothing is
known, except that he appears as witness in deeds, and
a charter of Maud de Praers granting Tottleworth early
in the c13 is on record.
Gilberts de Rishton's
outlawry in 1256 for the murder of William de Mellor
forfeited the manor to his lord Edmund de Lacy, Earl
of Lincoln. His descendants asserted when claiming its
restoration, that the outlawry had never been
promulgated, but the inquest taken after Edmunds death
2 years later shows Gilberts son Henry as only having
less than a 4th part of Rishton. Moreover
it was only a quarter of the residuary manor,
excluding the freeholds of Cowhill, Tottleworth Sidebight, and Cunliffe which were held directly from
Lacy by rent paying tenants. Presumably the chief lord
had taken pity upon the felons son to this limited
extent.
Henry de Lacy, his
successor , was more complaisant, for in 1278 Gilbert,
son of Henry de Rishton, is found settling the whole
manor on his (illegitimate) son Adam, who demised it
(save Cunliffe and Sidebight) to his father for his
life.
At some date unknown,
Richard de Rishton apparently another son of Gilbert
(II) was enfeoffed by his father in a fourth part of
the manor, which was to be held for nearly 3 centurys by his
descendants. Richard was the progenitor of the Rishton's of dunk which was bought by his son.
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Adam de Rishton died
before 1300 without surviving issue, where upon Henry
de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, re-entered upon the manor, and
between 1305 and 1310 regranted it to Edmund Talbot of
Bashall in Craven and Joan his wife. 1/3 of the manor
was retained in dower by Mabel, widow of Adam. This
was the starting point of a feud that was to last 2c
between the Talbots and Gilbert de Rishton and their
descendants.
Save for one brief period
the Talbots succeeded in retaining the manor and its
manor house of the Holt against all attempts of the Rishton's, legal and illegal, to recover possession.
Tottleworth which was held by a family of that ilk,
paid rent to them as did the 4th part of
the manor retained by the younger line of the Rishton's.
Before there
dispossession from Rishton, Gilbert and his eldest son
Robert de Rishton had secured a new home. Between
1290 and 1295 they had bought the adjacent manor of
Church from Adam, son of Uchtred de Church, whose
ancestors had been lords of the vill under the Lacies
from the beginning of the century at least. The house
was purchased with money and not thru marriage. The
illegitimate Adam de Rishton had also acquired an
interest in the township, mainly from Robert, son of
Henry de Church, which later passed to his brothers
and heirs. The manor came to be known as Powthalgh, or
Pouthalgh pronounced powtuff, which a modern mis-spelling
has transformed into Ponthalgh.
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1200 1208
Rodger De Rishton
grants to Adam his son and heir all that quarter of
his land in Rishton, viz half a carute, except the
land of his free tenants, beginning at the rivulet
of Tottleworth dene, where it falls into Hyndburn, up
to the meeting of Salterford and Northdene and up as
far as Smalsaghsyke, then up by Redecar to Risshelache,
through the mid-lake to Endemosse, through the
mid-moss to and down the Holghclogh to Redbroke, along
this to Hallhaede, up this to the old dyke, along this
to the greystone next Ediholes, which is the land of
god and Saint John Baptist, following the dyke which
devides Little Harwood and the waste of Rishton as far
as the Thyrsclough, and so down to Elvynkar, along the
car to Knuzdenbroke, up this to the clogh, near the
Outlone, up the clogh to the dyke, following this on
the south side of the moss of Kuhill, then down as far
as Aspedene Clogh, up this to Hayleybroke, down this
to Hyndburn and down Hyndburn to the dead water (mortuam
aquam) and down to were Tottleworth dene joins
Hyndburn, where we began.
Also he grants the
service and escheats etc of his free men doing foreign
service for half a caruate of land “unde xx caruate
faciunt feodum uniius militis”
Witnesses:
Henry, parson of Blackburn
John Phitun
Richard De Eluetham
Henry de Plesinton
Rodger de Samlesbury
Henry de meluer
John, son of Richard de blakeburn
Richard, son of canaan
Helias, son of Alexander
Richard de eccleshall
Alan de samlesbury
Henry de praers
Richard, son of utred de chirche
Adam, son of henry de blakeburn
Gilbert, his brother
John, the clerk, who made this deed with many
others.
In the Whalley Coucher book we find Rissheham and
Risshedene connected with Rishton.
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1255 Gilbert de Rishton killed William de Mellor in a
quarrel.
1290 - 5 Gilbert De Rishton bought the manor of Church
(Ponthalgh) from Adam De Church.
Originally part of the Clayton-le-Moors estate until
two sisters Alice and Cecily became joint heirs in the 13th century, at
which time the estate was divided between them. The Grimshaw family
(Cecily) settling into Clayton Hall taking the northern part of the
estate, with the Rishton (Alice) family settling into the southern part of
the estate and building the original 13th century house which later became
the Dunkenhalgh. 5
The Clayton's owned Clayton Hall until Adam de Grimshaw
married Cicely and made Clayton his home. The rest of the Grimshaw's
remained in Darwen.5
Henry de Clayton (occurs 1333), had two children,
Cicely de Clayton, {sole heiress and widow in 1368} And Margaret, {living
1368}. Cicely de Clayton married Adam de Grimshaw and had four children.
Some confusion here, as the two sisters were supposedly called Alice and
Cecily, not Margaret.5
An inquiry was held in the nave of Church Kirk by Henry
de Rishton in 1311. It reveals Henry de Rishton as holding half a carucate
of land in Church, while Robert de Rishton held one carucate of freehold
land in Church, subject to the rendering of six shillings and doing
service for three weeks at Clitheroe Castle. This same Henry de Rishton of
1311 A.D., had a grandson name Robert de Rishton, who was already
established on the estate of Pontalgh in Church before 1329 A.D. The de
Rishton family, as has been disclosed in the annals of Church, had become
prominent in local affairs during the previous century. They acquired the
Manor of Rishton in 1242 A.D. by the marriage of Margery de Praers to
Gilbert de Blackburn, who then assumed the name of Rishton, and held a
tenth part of a knight’s fee in Rishton, of the Earl of Lincoln.11
Henry
de Grimshaw, One of Alice's sons, divided the manor of Clayton with the
Rishton's and lived to 1409, he bore the family crest. He had two
children, Robert Grimshaw, {living 1454} and Katherine Grimshaw, {living
1429}.5
Robert Grimshaw married (?) And had two children, Hugh
Grimshaw, {living 1441}, and Henry Grimshaw, born about 1442, who married
Isabel, {daughter of Henry Rishton of Rishton, married by dispensation
1446} and who also had two children, Henry Grimshaw, and Nicholas
Grimshaw.5
This Henry Grimshaw, born 1467, died 1507, and married
Alice, who was the daughter of Richard Tempest of Bracewell. They had
three children.5
1361 saw the de Rishtons of Dunkenhalgh receive a
moiety of Clayton Manor, on the death of Henry de Clayton. De Clayton had
two daughters, Alice and Cecily, and on his death Henry de Grimshaw
(Cecily's son) took Clayton Hall and the greater part of the demense,
while the remainder became the property of Henry de Rishton and his wife
Margaret, who was the daughter of de Claytons daughter, Alice.1
The acquisition of this part of the manor of Clayton
was particular valuable, because, for the first time it carried manorial
rights which had not belonged to the Dunkenhalgh previously. These rights
later enabled Judge Walmsley to place a byre cross (bye-law cross), a
cucking or ducking stool, archery butts, and a pound for stray cattle.1
In
the 1st half of the 16th century
the manors of Dunkenhalgh (dunk was only a
quasi-manor), a moiety of Clayton and Church were, and
had been for 2 C and more in the possession of of 2
branches of the Rishton family, which took its name
from an adjacent township in the parish of Blackburn.
The
elder branch was seated at Powthalgh (wrongly
Ponthalgh), the younger at dunk until the latter was
sold to the elder in 1556.
Descended from possibly one of the last married
rectors of Blackburn, the Rishtons
had early lost their name manor (though
retaining a large holding there), but more than
compensated themselves thru marriage and purchase in
its near neighbourhood.
Their estate passed to Sir Thomas
Walmesley (1537- 1612) and descendants.
In 1662 John Grimshaw, of Clayton Hall, {died 8th March
1662, aged 48} married Anne, {daughter and co-heiress of Abraham
Colthurst, of Burnley, 6 of Charles I. Ob 24 July 1661} and had five
children, Richard Grimshaw, {lived 1664}, Nicholas Grimshaw, {lived 1642},
John Grimshaw, Mary Grimshaw, and Helen Grimshaw, who married John
Clarkson of Cowhill. Helen was the daughter of John Grimshaw who died on
the 8th of March, 1662, aged 48 years old. Helen was the 5th child of this
line of the Grimshaw's.5
In 1394 it is recorded that John of Gaunt gave the
estates of Rishton to Henry de Rishton of the Dunkenhalgh. 1
On the 12th August 1395, John of Gaunt, Duke of
Lancaster, entrusted the custody of 3/4 of the manor, which had formally
been in the possession of Sir Thomas Talbot, who was outlawed and sent to
execution in the tower of London, but escaped a few days before, to Henry
de Rishton of the Dunkenhalgh.1
On the 3rd June 1414, Henry de Rishton had obtained a
sentence of excommunication from the Dean of Blackburn against some
persons unknown who had injured him. These persons were to make amends to
him within a fortnight. Bells were to be rung, candles lighted and
extinguished, and the cross held erect, as often as Henry required it.1
The South aisle of the chancel in Blackburn Chapel was
originally given to the De Rishton family, but rather than being given to the
Lords it was given to the manor. Thus in Henry De Rishtons will, he requested
that his body was buried in the Chapel, and 12d was left to the vicar and
chaplains to prey for his soul. He also requested candles to be placed before
the image of the virgin Mary in Altham Church, and before the high cross at
Blackburn.
The De Rishtons continued to be buried in this
vault, but later we find that the Talbots were also buried there. (See
earlier Statements)
Richard, Henry de Rishtons oldest son, married Margaret
Holt (the name was purely coincidental!), who was the daughter of William,
the son of Peter Holt of Stodlegh, or Studley in Warwickshire, some time
during or before 1414. This was how the de Rishtons of Dunkenhalgh
acquired their estates in Warwickshire. In that year, Richard and Margaret
received the de Rishton estate of Tottleworth from Henry, presumably as a
dowry, at the same time receiving more lands in Tottleworth from one
Richard Catlowe, who was a chaplain.
In 1423 Henry de Rishton retired. He accepted an
allowance from those appointed to supervise his affairs. He asked for an
allowance in order to buy bread when it was not baking week at the
Dunkenhalgh. His dress allowance was 20 shillings a year. 1
Henry de Rishton passed away in 1428, and left a sum of
money for the repair of a bridge over the Hyndburn between Rishton and
Clayton Le Moors, but if the local authorities were slow in raising
sufficient funds from the villagers, then his request would be turned to
pious use.1
The Talbot and de Rishton families appeared to be the
major landowners around Rishton at that time, and it is known that they
were in continuous dispute (over Waddington Hall, Holt Hall, and Cowhill).
In 1581 Sir Thomas, the last of the Talbot's, sold the manor of Rishton to
Thomas Walmsley, who was a Catholic. He subsequently left his mark by
rebuilding Dunkenhalgh Hall and creating a Catholic chapel in the grounds.
The hall also boasted a resident priest and Mass House. This was used by
most local Catholics until the Chapel of St Mary’s was opened in Altham in
1819.1
1379
Calf Hey in Oswaldtwistle was the property of the Rishtons of Dunkenhalgh.
It was at one time associated with Fern Gore which was claimed by the
abbots of Whalley. Fern Gore was in later years a woollen centre an
industry locally established by the Rishtons. Towards the close of the 17th
Century the making of fustians and so called cotton goods began to take up
rapidly. To foster the woollen industry which had begun to suffer from the
linen and other industries, an act was passed in the reign of Charles the
2nd prohibiting burials in linen.
1417 Antley was leased to the Rishtons
1428 Henry de Rishton left money for repair for the bridge over the
Hyndburn.
1460 Henry de Rishton was pardoned by King Henry VI for
treason and repealed of his outlawry which was confirmed 2 years later by
Edward IV.
1516
Ralph Rishton son of Rodger, of Dunkenhalgh age 9, and Helen daughter of
Richard Townley of Royle, age 10, married at Altham Church. A child - wife
a few years later lost her reason, and Ralph Rishton pretended to get a
divorce, and to marry in Helens lifetime Eliz Parker, of Horrocksford, by
whom he had 6 children. Ralph put away his 2nd so called wife, and then
married Anne Stanley, daughter of Lady Anne Stanley of Holt. But in 1554
she was taken by force to Harwood Church, and made to marry another man,
Mr. John Rishton Ponthalgh, to her sore distress.
Around 1536 Isabel the daughter of Nicholas de Rishton
of Dunkenhalgh married Robertus de Hethersall taking up residence at
Hothersall Hall, Nr Preston.
Edward Rishton
Edward Rishton was born in Lancashire, 1550, and died
at Sainte-Ménehould, Lorraine, on the 29th June, 1585.
He was probably a younger son of John Rishton of
Dunkenhalgh and Dorothy Southworth. He studied at Oxford from 1568 to
1572, when he proceeded B.A. probably from Brasenose College. During the
next year he was converted and went to Douai to study for the priesthood.
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He was
the first Englishman to matriculate at Douai, and
is said to have taken his M.A. degree there.
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While a student he drew up and published a chart of
ecclesiastical history, and was one of the two sent to Reims in November,
1576, to see if the college could be removed there. After his ordination
at Cambrai (6th April, 1576) he was sent to Rome.
In 1580 he returned to England, visiting Reims on the
way, but was soon arrested. He was tried and condemned to death with
Blessed Edmund Campion and others on 20th November, 1581, but was not
executed, being left in prison, first in King's Bench, then in the Tower.
On 21st January he was exiled with several others, being sent under escort
as far as Abbeville, whence he made his way to Reims, arriving on 3rd
March.
Shortly afterwards, at the suggestion of Father
Persons, he completed Sander's imperfect "Origin and Growth of the
Anglican Schism". With the intention of taking his doctorate in divinity
he proceeded to the University of Pont-à-Mousson in Lorraine, but the
plague broke out, and though he went to Saint-Ménehould to escape the
infection, he died of it and was buried there.
DUNKENHALGH
DURING THE COMMONWEALTH
Civil War broke out on the 22nd August, 1642, and
Richard, grandson of Thomas Walmsley, had just become master of
Dunkenhalgh and its estates at the age of eleven years. Cromwell’s troops
took over the Hall, and Richard, with his mother, crossed over to France,
and a steward, Adam Boulton, was left in charge.
Adam Boulton struggled to keep the estate together when
the tenants in Rishton refused to pay their rents and threatened Adam with
his life.
The Dunkenhalgh was occupied by
Parliamentary troops under Colonel Shuttleworth, of Gawthorpe, who was a
relative of the Walmsleys, and by April 1643, there were two troops of
parliamentary soldiers occupying the Hall under the command of Captain
Assheton.
Lord Derby was busy gathering Royalist
forces in the County, in a vain effort to drive them out. A letter marked
E. F. described how the troops had left to face Lord Derby's men near
Whalley, making them retreat towards Padiham.
In
June 1644, Prince Rupert set out to York to relieve the garrison being
besieged there, on reaching Blackburn he spilt his troops in two, one half
passing through Rishton, Enfield, and Burnley, being led by Charles Lucas.
The Dunkenhalgh was left untouched, Prince Rupert being a friend of the
Walmsleys, and doubtless paid little attention to it.
With the Restoration of Charles II in 1661, Richard
returned. He found that after the occupation by troops, it was necessary
to restore Dunkenhalgh, and this he did at the enormous cost of £10,000.
He refurnished the mansion, laid out a magnificent deer park, and employed
expert landscape gardeners to lay out the grounds and gardens in French
and Italian styles.
In 1662 a tax was imposed on hearths, two shillings per
annum being paid to the King for every fireplace in any dwelling house. In
1666 the returns for Dunkenhalgh declared 31 hearths, and this was also
the total number of hearths in the whole township of Church. This tax was
abolished in 1688, but was replaced by a tax on windows.
About 1644, at the time of Prince Rupert marching
through the town, James Livesey of Sidebeet, and others, broke into the
Hall, stealing goods to the value of £40, claiming it was Papish property.
The tenants refused to pay rent to Adam Boulton, fences were ripped down,
trees cut, and cattle roamed far and wide. He was powerless to do anything
about these crimes.
In 1646 Thomas Whalley of
Eachill was established as presbytery priest in an experiment by the
religious people of the district.
After 1651 when
the Royalist party were last suppressed after a rising, Parliament began
its plundering. Edward Rishton of Mickle Heyes was one of these like other
local royalist.
Adam Boulton died in 1654, and after
the restoration of the hall in 1661, Richard returned. He had married Mary
before his return, daughter of Bartholomew Fromund, of Cheame in Surrey,
and had had four sons - Thomas, Richard, Charles and Bartholomew. Thomas
died unmarried in 1677, Richard died in Rome in 1680, Charles also died
childless, leaving just Bartholomew to become heir.
Richard, their father, died on the 26th April 1679, aged just 49.
Bartholomew married Dorothy Smith of Crabtree in Essex,
having one son and three daughters.
There is no link between Judge Walmsley & the Duchess
of Somerset, But her tomb that is in Westminster abbey is said to be
identical to that of the tomb of judge Walmsley of Dunkenhalgh that was in
the old Blackburn parish church that was destroyed in the civil war. The
plaque in the photo is all that remains of judge Walmsley tomb and this
plaque is on the rear wall of Blackburn cathedral.
The low stone castellated house, dating back to about
1580, has been substantially rebuilt since those troubled days when
Walmsleys were Pope’s men and loyal to the Stuarts. They would smuggle
priests into Dunkenhalgh and that perhaps accounts for the White Lady
which folk claim to have seen in the grounds (see later).
The hall, now an hotel at Clayton-le-Moors,
incorporates panelling and a splendid oak staircase brought from Hacking
Hall, a fine five-gabled three-storied stone house stoutly rebuilt in 1607
by Judge Walmsley.
THE POSSESSION OF LANGHO CHAPEL
In 1680, Bartholomew Walmsley, then a youth, became
lord of Dunkenhalgh. He was a Roman Catholic and he adapted for Roman
Catholic worship the old Langho chapel which at that time was in a state
of neglect, no curate being in state of possession, and had the seats etc
removed while coming into possession of the keys, Mass was celebrated there until the Vicar of Blackburn
came to know of it in 1688. Vicar Price partitioned the Crown, and A lawsuit followed which was heard by the notorious
Judge Jeffreys, (portrayed in Lorna Doone), at that time Lord Chancellor, who restored possession of
the chapel immediately by decree to the said Vicar of Blackburn, Francis
Price. Thus Langho chapel reverted to the Church of England, and the Vicar
of Blackburn was bidden to be more considerate in the provision of
adequate ministration. This was said to be the last chapel where Roman
Catholic services were held.
Bartholomew at this time became implicated in a
scheme known as the Lancashire Plot for the restoration of James
11(1685-8.9). Because of his loyalty to the Jacobite cause he was
compelled to live abroad for several years, but on his return, together
with a number of other Lancashire gentlemen, he was arrested and tried in
Manchester on the 20th October, 1694.
The accusation was that they were "traitors to our
Sovereign Lord and Lady William III and Mary, and specifically of having
accepted some commissions for the raising of an army from James II, late
King of England". They were all found not guilty, and Bartholomew Walmsley
took up residence at Dunkenhalgh where he died on the 29th December, 1701.
Bartholomew had only had one son, Francis, born on the
13th August 1696, but also had three daughters, Julian died young,
Catherine was born on the 6th January 1698, and Mary also died young.
Francis took the estate on his fathers death in in
January 1702, but died himself in April 1711, aged just 14. His sister
Catherine was now sole surviving heir, and the last of the Walmsley
family.
THE FORMER EAST WINDOW OF CHURCH KIRK.
At the east end of the rebuilt nave and above the altar
there was inserted a stained-glass window, the gift of George Petre from
the private chapel of Dunkenhalgh, which displayed the arms of the
Walmsleys and Petres of Dunkenhalgh and Whalleys of Clerk Hill, with a
figure of the Virgin somewhat mutilated. Some of this glass was fourteenth
century. In 1879, when the chancel was built, this glass was removed, and
in 1881 it was placed in one of the south windows of the nave and was
destroyed in 1917, when there was an explosion at an adjoining chemical
works.
The window in the days of its original splendour must
have enhanced the interior of the church in its blaze of heraldic glory,
for prominent was the lion demi-rampant, or erect, the crest of the
Rishton’s of Ponthalgh. Also there were depicted the arms of the
Rishton’s, a black lion passant or recumbent. The arms of the Fyttons of
Martholme, formerly lords of the manor of Gt. Harwood and of Tottleworth
in Rishton, were represented by three wheat sheaves. The arms of the
Heskeths, successors of the Fyttons, comprised a majestic golden eagle
with wings outspread. Above this was a beautifully coloured representation
of the Blessed Virgin, and below were two suns and near to these was the
lion rampant, the arms of the De Lacys, ancient lords of Clitheroe. One
coat of arms containing two mullets may have been originally the arms of
the de Althams, which should have contained three mullets. Especially is
this likely as the adjoining coat of arms was a black flewry sable of the
Banastre arms of Altham, together with the arms and crest of the Walmsleys
of Dunkenhalgh, with other decorative ornamentations. The window would
probably date from the late sixteenth century.
The castellated house now the Dunkenhalgh Hotel is approached through
an avenue of Lime Trees, with its many acres of parkland once being home
to many deer. Being the main residence of the Walmsley family between
1571 and 1712 the house was stocked by many fine artefacts brought here
from other houses in the neighbourhood.
Thomas Walmsley M. P was knighted in 1603 by James I, his grandson also
named Thomas was M. P. for Clitheroe in 1621 and was also knighted by
James I.
The hall is said to be haunted by the ghost of a French
governess named Lucette who was working for the Petre family. She was due
to have an illegitimate child by a soldier who was a guest at the house.
When he refused to support her and knowing she would loose her job as soon
as the Petre family heard of the matter, she committed suicide by throwing
herself of the nearby Bridge into the River Hyndburn. On hearing of poor
Lucette's plight, her brother challenged the soldier to a duel and avenged
her by killing the officer. It is now claimed that Lucette haunts the
house in her burial cloak, primarily on Christmas Eve. The Dunkenhalgh
became the home of the Petre family, and were lords of the manor until
1947.
 |
|
April 12th 1900, Henry Petre owner of the
Dunkenhalgh, leaves as volunteer to the South Africa war.
On April the 12th 1900, Henry Petre died aged 78. He was the then owner
of the Dunkenhalgh.
On the 22nd January 1945, A letter of condolence was
addressed to the relatives of the late Mr. G. E. Petre from the Rishton
Urban District Council.
2nd April 1947, the Dunkenhalgh Manor sold to Neville
Burton of Manchester to possibly be made into a hotel.
September 13th 1947, the manor was
officially opened as a hotel.
9th May 1950. The Dunkenhalgh (Petre Arms Hotel) is
auctioned but withdrawn when bids only reached £27,500.
29th July 1950, Dunkenhalgh hotels Ltd. took over the
Petre Arms Hotel (formerly Dunkenhalgh) from B & B Hotels Ltd.
20th
October 1956, The Dunkenhalgh gatehouse was demolished because large
American cars couldn't get to the hotel.
Gremlins at the Hall
"I am informed by some persons, who had it by tradition
from ancient people, that formerly there was in this country a monstrous
serpent of four or five yards long, and thicker than a common axle-tree
[wooden] of a cart, and very mischievous, preying upon lambs etc. Its
chief residence was in a wood, near pickup bank, a few miles from
Blackburn in Lancashire, called Ouse Castle, wherein there is yet a little
spot of ground, called Griom's Ark, which is a deep cavern, situated among
rocks in a wood, from whence it was seen to come out and bask itself on a
sunny bank.
The picture of this serpent is drawn with wings, two
legs, and talons like an eagle, which is seen in some ancient houses (and
particularly at Clayton Hall, near Dunkinhall), by which it appears to be
very large and furious. It is said one Grimshaw, esq., proprietor of that
hall, shot the monster with arrows, and had an estate offered him for that
good service done to his Country, which he generously refused, and only
desired that he might have passage through that wood to a township he had
on t'other side of it, which was granted, the title of which is found in
ancient writings.
It
is observable that in the front of Clayton hall are two figures drawn in
plaster in the form of a serpent. The like figure is drawn in plaster in
several ancient houses in that neighbourhood, which go under the name of
the griffin's picture, and the sign is used at public-houses. There is a
place in that wood called the Griffin's Ark."
The first Grimshaw with a reference to the griffon is
Henry de Grimshaw of Clayton living in 1372-6 who divided the manor of
Clayton with the Rishtons.
In the St George Visitation Records we find a reference
to Henry Grimshaw as follows: - "The carrying of weapons in medieval days
led to serious disputes. For in 1465 Henry Grimshaw was implicated in the
manslaughter of Robert Bynnes of Altham. The sheriff sent a warrant to the
constable of Altham for the arrest of Robert Bynnes. Henry was assisting
at the arrest and killed Robert with his lance, from which charge he was
cleared. Being done in the execution of his duty.
More about de Rishton's
RISHTON Family, First Generation
1. Gefferye Rishton, birth date unknown. Gefferye died
6 March 1639/40 in Blackburn Parish, Lancaster, England.
He married Maria Pemmerton in Blackburn Parish,
Lancaster, England, 14th October 1601. from Harston Lee (Harthstonelea)
Blackburn Parish, Lancaster, England
Gefferye Rishton and Maria Pemmerton had the following
children:
2 i. Ranulphus2 Rishton. He was baptized in Blackburn
Parish, Lancaster, England, 22 June 1602. Religion: religion unknown.
3 ii. Anna Rishton. She was baptized in Blackburn
Parish, Lancaster, England, 6 November 1603. Religion: religion unknown.
4 iii. Martha Rishton. She was baptized in Blackburn
Parish, Lancaster, England, 24 March 1603/4. Religion: religion unknown.
5 iv. Jana Rishton. She was baptized in Blackburn
Parish, Lancaster, England, 1 May 1606. Religion: religion unknown.
6 v. Richard Rishton. He was baptized in Black Hawk
Co., I. A., 8 May 1609. Religion: religion unknown.
7 vi. Thomas Rishton. He was baptized in Black Hawk
Co., I. A., 23 February 1613/4. Religion: religion unknown.
8 vii. Gefferye Rishton Junior. He was baptized in
Blackburn Parish, Lancaster, England, 26 July 1618. Religion: religion
unknown.
9 viii. William Rishton. He was baptized in Blackburn
Parish, Lancaster, England, 3 September 1620. Religion: religion unknown.
THE SAMLESBURY GHOST
The White Lady, Part I
In Part I of this story into the legends
surrounding the Samlesbury Ghost, it is cited the earliest known sources
for this story and recounted numerous reported encounters prior to 1940.
In Part II, it relates those reported from 1940 to the present. In Part
III we investigate who the White Lady might have been.
Like many other ancient houses Samlesbury Hall is said
to be haunted. It is impossible to say when this belief originated but it
was probably first written down by T. T. Wilkinson in 1875 in his "Legends
and Traditions of Lancashire" -
"Tradition states that during his [Sir John, died 1595]
later years one of his daughters had formed an intimate acquaintance with
the heir of a neighbouring knightly house. The attachment was mutual, and
nothing was wanting to complete their happiness except the consent of the
lady's father.
Sir John was thereupon consulted, but the tale of their
devoted attachment only served to increase his rage, and he dismissed the
supplicants with the most bitter denunciations. "No daughter of his should
ever be united to the son of a family which had deserted its ancestral
faith," and he forebode the youth his presence for ever.
Difficulty, however, only served to increase the ardour
of the devoted lovers, and after many secret interviews along the wooded
slopes of the Ribble, an elopement was agreed upon, in hope that time
would bring her father's pardon. The day and place were unfortunately
overheard by one of the lady's brothers, who was hiding in a thicket close
by, and he determined to prevent what he considered his sister's disgrace.
On the evening agreed upon, both parties met at the
place appointed, and as the young knight moved away with his betrothed,
her brother rushed from his hiding place and slew both him and his two
friends by whom he was accompanied.
The bodies were secretly buried within the precincts of
the domestic chapel at the Hall, and Lady Dorothy was sent abroad to a
convent, where she was kept under strict surveillance. Her mind at last
gave way. The name of her murdered lover was ever on her lips, and she
died a raving maniac.
Some years ago three human skeletons were found near
the walls of the Hall, and popular opinion has connected them with the
tradition.
The legend also states that on certain clear still
evenings a lady in white can be seen passing along the grounds; that she
meets there a handsome knight who receives her on his bended knee, and he
then accompanies her along the walks. On arriving at a certain spot, most
probably the lover's grave, both phantoms stand still and as they seem to
utter soft wailings of despair they embrace each other, and then the forms
rise slowly from the east and melt away into the clear blue of the
surrounding sky."
The Samlesbury historian Robert Eaton, in his booklets
"Stories of Samlesbury" published some years ago gives several instances
of reports of the apparition - "The Northern Daily Telegraph of February
4th, 1926, quoting a recent issue of the London Morning Post in which was
printed a letter by an elderly Colonel, formerly a subaltern in the 15th
York's East Riding Regiment, states:
"He [the colonel] was sent with a company of soldiers
to garrison Samlesbury Hall in 1878, during the Lancashire cotton riots,
and was given a bedroom in a long corridor overlooking the front garden
(courtyard).
In the early morning (the writer states) he was
awakened by someone crying most bitterly, and having made a vain search to
discover the cause returned to bed concluding that someone in a room above
his own was in pain.
At breakfast he related his experience to his host and
hostess, who exchanged significant glances and then related the story of
the ghost of Samlesbury Hall as follows:
'In the reign of Henry VIII the Hall belonged to the
Catholic family of Southworth and the daughter of the house arranged to
elope with young de Hoghton of the nearby Tower, who had rejected the
family faith by becoming a Protestant.
The plan of elopement became known, old Southworth and
his men ambushed de Hoghton and killed him and his attendant, beneath Miss
Southworth's window. She saw it happen, threw herself out and was killed
also.
Ever since she has been said to haunt the corridor in a
white dress, weeping and wailing. "In recent times when alterations were
being made the skeletons of two men were found buried beneath the corridor
windows."' [This last sentence is in quotation marks in the original.
Presumably Eaton is indicating a quote from the original work of
Wilkinson].
In a later story Eaton cites a Mr. Abram Sharples of
Samlesbury, who died aged 73 in 1926. Eaton writes -
"Mr. Sharples on the night of February 7th that year
related the following:
He was employed as a youth by Mr. Wm. Harrison, who
with his sister Miss Harrision resided at Samlesbury Hall up to May, 1879.
During an excavation for a land drain, probably about
1870 for the South West or Preston side, he and a workman named Jacob
Baron unexpectedly broke into an enclosed brick chamber lying just outside
the garden wall. The interior being inspected, the remains of two human
bodies were found, which soon fell away to little more than bones and
hair.
Mr. Harrison caused the vault to be repaired, cleaned
and lime washed, the remains replaced and the vault sealed up.
Mr. Sharples was also asked if he could remember the
cotton riots of 1878.
He said that during these disturbances Samlesbury Hall
was occupied by 50 soldiers and an officer, together with 20 police and an
inspector.
The soldiers and police found shelter under the
spacious carriage shed in the yard, whilst the officer and inspector of
police were lodged in the house, their hosts being Mr. William Harrison
and his sister Miss Harrison.
The officer mentioned by Mr. Sharples is without
question the elderly colonel who writes such an interesting letter to the
Morning Post, February, 1926."
Such then seems to be the basic legend and its earliest
recordings.
Other experiences, since then, only seem to go back as
far as 1925. Eaton, in the same 'Stories of Samlesbury' booklet writes, in
a story called "A Hot-Pot Supper.", the following -
"In November of 1925, a hot pot supper was held in the
armorial room, to celebrate the recent purchase of this fine old manor
house. When the tables had been cleared the party formed themselves into a
cosy cordon around the aromatic wood fire.
Feeble lights struggled bravely to pierce the gloom of
the distant recesses, and white wood ashes falling on the hearth formed or
hinted curious shapes, whilst various members of the party in turn
entertained the others in song, recital or story. Dr. S. Davies, Master of
the Blackburn Society of Antiquaries, read from "Pickwick Papers" that
fine ghost story 'Tale told by a bagman' and another told of 'Syke's Lumb
and the pots of money'.
A lady then related her experiences of some years
previously when staying in Balderstone. She was recuperating after a
rather prolonged illness, staying at a house in Balderstone, where only
the width of the turnpike road separated Samlesbury from the former
township.
One evening at the edge of dark, she, with her hostess,
went to fetch milk from a farmhouse over the road in Samlesbury.
They seated themselves on the spindle backed rush
bottomed chairs, in the gloom of the living room, where, second by second,
the grandfather clock ticked ominously and unseen in its dark corner.
The bread flake with its festoons of brittle oat cakes
drooped from the gnarled ceiling beams, and the flameless glow of a
sinking fire showed the andirons in black relief as the old farmer, who
lived in solitary seclusion, went into the dairy to fill the jug with
milk.
Whilst they waited in motionless silence she noticed
near a long cushioned squab in another room - its door being ajar - a
moving shadowy figure, which on more intent observation resolved itself
into the form of a somewhat tall and slightly built lady with long,
flowing hair, dressed all in white and in the fashion of bygone days.
At first the observer thought it might be the
reflection of herself, as she wore a white gown, but no, this lady was
standing, whereas she was seated, and again the old-world air was there,
the quaint old-fashioned gown, and the air of mystery. Her wondering
meditations were disturbed by the return of the old farmer with a brimming
jug of milk, and the two ladies with a 'good-night' left for home.
As soon as they were well outside, the one said to her
hostess, "I thought old Mr. (calling him by name) lived by himself".
"Well, so he does and has for many years," was the reply. "But is there no
one staying with him at all?" "No," was the answer, "Of that I am sure."
Then the first lady remembered the unusual dress, the
unbraided hair, the apparent youth and faintness of the figure, and she
began to wonder! wonder!! what she had seen.
There was a hushed silence as the lady finished her
story, and several of those present began to think it just possible that
Samlesbury's White Lady after 300 years had come once again to the lonely
farmhouse to meet her lover, where the jealous vindictive eyes of her
father and brothers might be avoided.
The above extremely old farm house, formerly named
"Cobblers" and by the Harrison's re-named "Collin's Bridge", along with
its twenty acres or thereabouts was acquired for inclusion in the
Samlesbury aerodrome site. The old farm buildings are now razed to the
earth."
The White Lady, Part II
In his booklet Stories of Samlesbury, Robert Eaton, the
Samlesbury historian, tells of another encounter in 1940. This is called
"The Janitor's Story".
"On the night of January 10th 1940, it then being the
period of dark moon, the present resident caretaker, Mr. Edward Smith,
together with a male friend, sat in vigil near the rails of the staircase
landing on the upper floor in Samlesbury Hall.
They sat with their backs towards the gallery of the
Southworth chapel in the rear centre of the room. From this position, all
the length of the apartment with the sole exception of the width taken up
by the staircase, and landing just behind them, would be easily observed.
For several nights prior to the above date, these two
men had made it their business to take up the positions described, for the
express purpose of determining for themselves whether any hauntings took
place, and if there were any substratum of truth in the legends attached
to this old manor house.
As they sat in the silent and eerie gloom of this
magnificent barrel-ceiled room with its many traditions of long past days,
stories of these old times rose in their minds.
Here once dwelt men who fought in the English army at
Harfleur and Agincourt. From Samlesbury went pike men and archers to fight
under their own lord at Flodden in 1513, and in the year 1581 the
unflinching Sir John Southworth was incarcerated at the New Fleet prison,
Manchester for a period of three years, because of his
religious pertinacity. The watchers sat in chairs in the position already
indicated, but with diminishing hopes of determining for themselves
whether there was any basis of truth in the old stories.
It was now half past eleven, and so far nothing
exceptional had happened; only thirty minutes before midnight. The clock
ticked on for another interminable fifteen minutes, when Mr. Smith was
startled by a fierce clutch on his left arm, and he turned sharply round
to his companion.
It was now apparent to him why his arm had been seized
with such force, for just to the left, and coming from the direction of
the chapel gallery was a slight grey wraith-like form, passing noiselessly
along the side of the walls towards the great fireplace in the centre of
the western wall.
Here the figure seemed to halt for a moment and finally
disappear - dissolve before their eyes. Waiting for a few moments to
regain control of their emotions a close examination was made of the
fireplace and chimney, but nothing exceptional was found, neither were the
voluntary late sittings prolonged to any succeeding night."
Still in the same booklet Eaton recounts another story,
"Pioneer Corps at Samlesbury Hall", which reads -
"A short time before the incidence of the present
[1939-45] war, a large area of ground in Samlesbury, and sometime later, a
smaller portion of land in the adjoining township of Balderston were
purchased, conjointly, by the Corporations of Blackburn and Preston.
Transport by air was getting more and still more to be
the probable and general means of individual and commercial conveyance,
especially over long distances, and advantage was seized so as to ensure
air travel facilities near these two towns. After war was declared by this
country on Germany, the third of September, 1939, the advantages of the
above named site for aeroplane manufacture and flight testing were
instantly seen, and so the site initially intended as a commercial
air-ways station was taken over by H. M. Government for war purposes.
There is some timber cover on the north east side of
the Hall, and in this leafy arbour several large Army hutments have been
erected. In this situation the huts are just off the air ways ground and
almost hidden by the trees.
For some time after completion the huts remained
untenanted, but near the middle of September 1942, a Manchester Company of
Pioneers was drafted to these quarters.
Completely encircling the Hall and its adjoining
buildings, there was in earlier days, a deep and wide, water filled moat,
and a portion of the old moat, but now drained and road surfaced, serves
as a depressed drive or road to the rear of the main buildings.
On the night of September 16th, 1942, two of the
recently arrived soldiers sauntered out of their quarters about 9.45 [pm].
They passed down the moat steps opposite the central hut building and so
entered the depression which once formed part of the ancient moat. Turning
towards the lodge gates they were enjoying a final smoke before turning in
for the night. They had not proceeded many yards when they were joined by
another figure.
Its appearance was quite unexpected and gave them both
a severe shock as it moved noiselessly beside them step by step, and
appeared to be merely a white shadowy phantom, which they tried to, but
couldn't shake off. Both men simultaneously felt that there was something
sinister and altogether uncanny about their unwelcome companion which,
without a word or sound moved along with them as if determined to bear
them company.
One of the men couldn't stand the strain and collapsed
in the drive, whilst his companion turned round and at top speed bolted
for the lighted shelter of the hut he had just left. Immediately on
getting safely inside, a rescue party was formed to bring back their
comrade.
He was still unconscious, and so serious was his
condition that it was deemed necessary to telephone for an ambulance which
carried him to the hospital in a nearby town. He was detained for several
days.
His companion, though not quite so seriously affected
was some time before he quite recovered from the effects of his night's
experience.
On the following morning - that is Thursday, September
17th, the company's sergeant related the above details to Mr. Smith the
resident caretaker of Samlesbury Hall, and said he at least was satisfied
that his men had passed through an unusual and trying experience for which
he could offer or suggest no explanation."
Two more stories date from 1948.
The first of these concerns members of the cast who
were in the play "The Tragedy of the House of Southworth", which was
performed at the Hall in October, 1948.
One evening between the 18th and 23rd of October, when
the play was being performed, several of the cast claimed to see a lady,
dressed in white, pass by the window of their dressing room. Initially
they though it must be one of their number, but a check showed that all
were present.
They were then convinced that something strange had
happened. Subsequent publicity attracted the attention of the B. B. C. who
made enquiries in December of that year.
The second story is narrated by Robert Eaton in the
second series booklet 'Stories of Samlesbury'. It is called the 'Nab Lane
Apparition.'
"There is a well used road close to the old Hall of
Samlesbury which leads to the Blackburn Corporation sewage disposal works
and a little further on arrives at the Nabs Head Inn, which too, is the
property of this Corporation. About half way to the Nabs Head is the home
of Mr. Hubbersty, which bears the name of Sorbrose House.
It lies on the lower side of the road and is somewhat
secluded. A little further on, we arrive at a few isolated cottages, in
one of which the business of a general store is carried on, here one may
purchase newspapers or provisions. The people who keep this shop of
general stores have been here a few years only and are not old inhabitants
and in consequence had, I believe, no knowledge of local traditions.
It was the usual practice of these shopkeepers, man and
wife, to have a stroll after business hours, and this often led to the
main Blackburn and Preston road which ends Nab Lane.
These people as already noted are not old residents in
Samlesbury, I stress this, neither had they any knowledge, as far as can
be ascertained, of local traditions. As before mentioned, it was their
usual practice to have a short walk after business hours, and at the same
time opportunity was taken of giving the dog some exercise, but on a
rather long lead.
After passing Sorbrose House and turning the bend in
the road, it appears that the couple went along, well away from the
shallow gutter, but the dog as far as the leash permitted was prowling
there.
The couple noticed a lady, who appeared to be wearing a
light mackintosh, coming towards them. After she had passed the man
remarked how quietly she had passed them and later commented how close she
had been to him and had seemed to brush past him.
Thinking of this later, they wondered how she could
have passed the man without tripping over the dog's lead. The figure, in
fact, passed between the man and his dog over or through a tightly held
lead. Further, it was too dark for any person to notice the lead and so
avoid being tripped by it.
The next evening the same couple read in a local
newspaper of an argument which took place between a Ribble bus driver and
his conductor.
It appears that the bus driver stopped near Samlesbury
Old Hall to pick up a woman dressed in a light coloured coat or
mackintosh, and who appeared to be awaiting the bus, which often makes a
stop at this point, for the convenience of people living near Nab's Head.
At the stop, the conductor looked out, but there was no
one there. He asked the driver what he had stopped for, particularly as
they were already behind schedule and it was the last bus - then argument
ensued.
It was suggested that the apparition in question might
have been the 'Lady Dorothy, a daughter of the Southworths of Samlesbury,
some 350 years ago."
In December 1962, an article appeared in the Northern
Daily Telegraph concerning a book of Samlesbury Hall, which the author,
Mr. G. F. Eastwood was endeavouring to get published. In that article Mr.
Eastwood was asked about the ghost, 'Does she really exist?' Mr. Eastwood
replied, "I have an open mind because quite a number of reliable people
claim to have seen her."
As I was working on the Southworth family history at
this time I made enquiry regarding the book. During the course of that
enquiry I was informed, by his wife, that Mr. Eastwood himself claimed to
have seen the white lady spectre on the archery field by the Hall. I must
state that I did not speak to Mr. Eastwood himself.
The White Lady, Part III
Such is the background to the 'White Lady' stories, but
who is the lady? The legend identifies the ghost as Lady Dorothy,
'daughter of Sir John'.
BUT Sir John did not have a daughter Dorothy, or if he
did she is not recorded anywhere, and, if she did exist, her non-recording
is highly unlikely. There is, however, a record of a Lady Dorothy, a
sister of Sir John, and daughter of Sir Thomas Southworth and Margaret
[nee Butler] his second wife.
Now, there is one circumstance that would point to
Dorothy as the ghost. Indications are that she died between 1575 and 1592,
just at the time when Sir John was in trouble with the authorities for his
continued adherence to the Catholic faith. Secret Masses were still being
said at this time, probably in the Hall and in nearby Bessa Woods, and
other locations round about.
The Hall contained many items of papistry, which were
eventually discovered by the authorities in 1592. So it was about the time
Dorothy died that there was, perhaps, a 'need' for a ghost in the Hall and
its grounds, to deter prying eyes. It may be then that the ghost story
first emerged. Whilst there is a case to be made, as above, the detail of
the legend seems to be largely invented. The known facts concerning
Dorothy are these.
She was born about 1525/30, the daughter of Sir Thomas
Southworth. She had one brother, Sir John, and four sisters; Elizabeth,
Anne, Katherine, and Cecily. Dorothy is first recorded in the Herald's
Visitation of Lancashire in 1533, when the Herald enters -"Sir
Thomas Southworth Knight maryed Margery, dawghter to Thomas Butler of
Bewse, father to Thomas Butler that now ys and they have ishew Elisabeth,
Anne, Katryn, and Dorothe. I spake not wt hym."
The next record of Dorothy is her marriage. Abram
records in his "History of Blackburn" that "John Rishton, Gent., son and
heir of Henry occurs in a return of recusant gentry in Lancashire in 1575.
He married in 1542, Dorothy, daughter [sic] of Sir John Southworth of
Samlesbury, Knight, and had issue sons Nicholas and Geffrey, and a
daughter Anne."
John Rishton's father, Henry Rishton, had married
Eleanor Butler about 1527, and had issue, sons John and Geoffrey, and
daughters Ann, Dorothy, Jane, Grace, Elizabeth, Alice, and Jenet.
This means that John Rishton, who married Dorothy
Southworth, could only have been 15 years old at the most at the time of
the marriage. His bride, Dorothy, would probably have been about the same
age.
At some time, probably before 1556, and perhaps earlier
than that, it seems that John and Dorothy divorced. Part of the divorce
settlement may have involved the lifetime tenure of the manor of Holte,
for an indenture reads -
'Indenture 26th October 3-4 Philip and Mary [1556].
1) Right Worshipful Sir John Sowthworthe of Samlesbury
Knt.
2) Rauf son and heir appt. of Roger Risshton of
Pulkaughe.
3) Gives, grants, bargains, sells all reversion of
manor of Holte (Warwick) all which should revert to Roger after death of
Dorothe Sowthworthe sister of Sir John Sowthworthe who is seised of it for
life. Dorothe Sowthworthe is to be clear of any dower to Ellen late wife
of Henry Risshton. Sir John Sowthworthe pay 200 marks at the chapel on the
north side of Blagheburne parish church.
Signed. J. Sowthworthe.
Signed, sealed, and delivered. Robert Ffaryngton,
Rauf Barton,
Wm. Preston,
Henry Sowthworthe,
Mastrys Dorothe Sowthworthe,
Gregory Butler,
and divers other persons worthy of credence.
Endorsed manor of Holte.
Note that Dorothy has reverted to her maiden name.
Whilst the divorces of her father and two sisters are recorded, there is
no trace of the possible divorce of Dorothy. Yet it seems beyond doubt.
Some light may be shed by the historical notes of Mr.
William Langton to the 1533 Visitation. He relates that this 'John Rishton
had been mixed up with a scandalous transaction in his early manhood.
His kinsman, Ralph Rishton of Ponthalgh, having formed
an improper connection with Ann Stanley, daughter of Dame Ann Stanley of
the Holt in Rishton, widow of Sir James Stanley of Cross Hall, knt., the
mother carried her daughter by night to Great Harwood Church (she being
three months gone with child) and forced her to go through the ceremony of
marriage with John Rishton of Dunkenhalgh. A divorce eventually terminated
this involuntary alliance.'
Quite why John was forced into the marriage when Ralph
seems to have been the 'cad' is not clear.
But it does show that John was free to marry at that
time, whenever it was. Dorothy is recorded again in 1575/6 when the Bishop
of Chester reports to the Privy Council as "obstinate recusants in the
Blagburne Parish....John Sothworth, knight, John Sothworth, gent, sonne to
John Sothworth, knight, Ann Southworth, his daughter, Dorothie Sothworth,
his sister."
Again this record confirms that Dorothy was Sir John's
sister, and she was using the family surname in 1575 despite her earlier
marriage to John Rishton.
Dorothy is not mentioned in a list of recusants in
1592, and this may indicate that she had died before then.
Little of the foregoing links up with the legend. There
is nothing here to suggest Dorothy wished to marry 'the son of a family
which had deserted its ancestral faith'. Nor is there anything to suggest
that she was 'sent abroad to a convent where she died a raving maniac'.
Indeed she was still living in Samlesbury when she was
45/50 years old, and almost certainly died there shortly after. Nor is
there any record to show that any son of a neighbouring Protestant family
was slain at Samlesbury.
Such is the stuff of legends.
It seems that ghosts have always appeared, most
fortuitously, when a deterrent was needed, for some reason or other, to
discourage visitors or enquirers.
In the case of the Samlesbury ghost it served to deter
close inspection at a time when priests were harboured there, and Masses
performed, in the days of Catholic persecution.
But there is a footnote:-
If ever there was a case to be made out for a
Samlesbury Hall ghost then a prime candidate would have to be Mary
Southworth, daughter of John and Jane [nee Sherburne], and great grand-
daughter of Sir John [died 1595].
Mary was born about 1602/3 to the heir of the
Samlesbury estates. Her father, however, never succeeded as he predeceased
his father. Mary's eldest brother, Thomas, then became heir and succeeded
his grandfather in 1617.
Mary was born in good circumstances, therefore, but her
father died when she was 9 years old.
On the 30th May 1616, when she was 13 or 14 years old
she married James Martin, M.A., a Protestant cleric, at St. John's church,
Preston.
The entry in the marriage register there reads - 'Jacobus
Martin Utrinsque Academise Magister in Artibus, Maria Southworth gen.'
Seven years after the marriage James lost his living,
because he had churched mothers of illegitimate children without the
required public confession having been made by them.
He seems to have become destitute, for he sent two
appeals to the Archbishop of York in 1633, in one of them stating that his
wife and son had died of starvation in the streets. In her darkest hours
Mary's thoughts must have turned to happier childhood days and to
Samlesbury Hall, her father's birthright. Perhaps she herself was born
there.
Could it be that the pale wraith which is said to haunt
the Hall is poor Mary?
References
1Rishton
Parish Church Jubilee 1927 by Carlton Noble.
Lancashire
Ghosts by Kathleen Eyre, Published by Dalesman Books 1974
A Chronology of
Accrington and Men of Mark, by R. S. Crossley, Published 1924.
A Hyndburn
Chronology by Paul Ladham
5Clayton
Hall
Clayton Le
Moors web site (now defunct- www.clayton-le-moors.org)
Hothersall
Hall (http://www.hothersallhall.fsnet.co.uk/history.htm) Website no longer
exists.
Lancashire Halls & Houses
Website (now defunct -
http://www.lancshalls.co.uk/Hyndburn/dunkenhalghhall.htm)
11A
History of the Parish of Saint James, Church Kirk, by The Reverend R. J.
W. Bevan and Victor G. Palmer, 2nd Edition 1989.
Edward Rishton piece wrote by Edwin Burton, and
Transcribed by Joseph E. O'Connor. PITTS, De illustribus Angliae
scriptoribus (Paris, 1619); DODD, Church History (Brussels vere
Wolverhampton, 1737-42), II, 74, a very inaccurate account; A WOOD,
Athenae Oxonienses, ed. BLISS (London, 1813 - 20); KINSELLA AND DEANE, The
Rise and Progress of the English Reformation (Dublin, 1827), a translation
of Sander; LEWIS, Rise and Growth of the Anglican Schism (London, 1877,
the best translation of Sander, the editor accepts the diary in the Tower
as being by Rishton; KNOX, First and Second Douay Diaries (London, 1878);
FOLEY, Records Eng. Prov. S.J., VI (London 1880); FOSTER, Alumni
Oxonienses (Oxford, 1891); GILLOW, Bibl. Dict. Eng. Cathleen. SIMPSON,
Edmund Campion, revised ed. (London, 1896-1907); COOPER in Dict. Nat.
Biog.; PERSONS, Memoirs in Catholic Record Society, II, IV (London, 1906);
Tower Bills, ed. POLLEN in Catholic Record Society, III (London, 1906).
Gremlins in the Hall - (Charles Owen, D. D., A
Nat. History Of Serpents, 1742. 4 to. P.144.)
White Lady - by John Southworth of Boston,
England.
Judge Walmsley picture and Westminster picture supplied
by Gordon Hartley.