List of Chapelries Within Leyland Parish

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LEYLAND (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Chorley, hundred of Leyland, N. division of the county of Lancaster; consisting of the chapelries of Euxton, Heapey, and Hoghton, and the townships of Clayton-le-Woods, Cuerden, Leyland, Wheelton, Whittlele-Woods, and Withnell; and containing 14,032 inhabitants, of whom 3569 are in the township of Leyland, 4½ miles (N. W.) from Chorley. The name, originally "Leghland," indicates the early cultivation of the fields. Warin Bussel, one of the barons under Roger de Poictou, in the reign of William I., held, among his ample demesnes, the parish of Leyland: at a very early period, however, it was parcelled out into townships or manors; and in connexion with it are mentioned the families of Farington, Bracebrigge, Holand, Molyneux, Walton, and others. The parish comprises about 17,950 acres, whereof 3651 are in Leyland township; of the latter number, 371 are common or waste land: the soil in the parish is various, but stiff loam generally prevails. In the hilly townships are many valuable stone-quarries, and in Whittle-le-Woods no fewer than four quarries of millstones: in Heapey and Hoghton similar quarries are worked; and slate, flags, and ashlar are got in abundance. The river Yarrow flows to the south of Euxton and Leyland, dividing the parish from Chorley; the Drownsnip or Ransnap brook waters Euxton, and, with another rill, runs into the Lostock, as do all the streams in the township of Leyland, for which the river forms a little estuary. The Moulden water, a romantic mountain stream, springs from three brooks in the wild gullies south of Withnell and Wheelton, and descends into the Darwen or Darwent, which washes the north-east side of the parish in its course towards Hoghton Tower, and falls into the Ribble at Walton-le-Dale. The Leeds and Liverpool canal passes through the south-east extremity of the parish of Leyland; and at Golden Hill, a quarter of a mile from the village, is a station on the North-Union railway. Bleach-works, established in 1784, and now employing 100 hands, are carried on by Mr. James Fletcher. Petty-sessions for the division are held once in five weeks, on Monday. Worden Hall, the seat of James Nowell Ffarington, Esq., contains a choice museum of natural curiosities, and a collection of valuable paintings, some of which were found in the ruins of Herculaneum. Wellington Place is the seat of Robert Snell, Esq. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11; patron, William Baldwin, Esq.; impropriators, Laurence Rawstorne, Esq., and J. N. Ffarington, Esq.: the great tithes of the township of Leyland have been commuted for £338, and the small tithes for £296; the vicar has a glebe of 44 acres. The church, originally erected without a single pillar, was rebuilt and enlarged in 1817, and contains several marble monuments: adjoining the chancel is an ancient chapel belonging to the Ffarington family. At Euxton, Heapey, Hoghton, Whittle-le-Woods, and Withnell are separate incumbencies. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Independents, and Roman Catholics. Near the churchyard is a free grammar school, founded by Queen Elizabeth, with an endowment of £3. 18. per annum, in aid of which the Rev. Thomas Armetriding, in 1718, bequeathed £250: the annual income, with subsequent benefactions, amounts to about £30. Another school is endowed with £13 per annum; and there is also a school, erected at Golden Hill in 1785 by Mr. Balshaw, and endowed by him with lands now producing an income of £230: it is in union with the National Society. An almshouse for six persons was founded in 1607 by William Ffarington, Esq.; and six more almshouses were built and endowed in 1665, by John Osbaldeston, Esq.

From: 'Lewknor - Lidsey', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 78-85. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51106 Date accessed: 08 June 2010.