paucity of the inhabitants; a certain number being necessary to maintain a priest and support a church: but, when population increased, the scattered villages began to have their own place of worship, though subordinate to that of the parish mother church; and hence originated the chapelries. In the 13th Charles II. an act was passed, permitting townships and villages, though not entire parishes, severally and distinctly to maintain their own poor. This act was restricted to the seven northern counties of England, in which the parishes from their great extent were found much too large for the due administration of the poor laws, which must always be founded upon a personal knowledge of the situation and character of every one applying for relief, and consequently the townships of Lancashire, with few exceptions, have become as distinctly limited in practice as if they were separate parishes. In stating the population of a united township, the number of inhabitants must be understood as that of the whole. The term hamlet, according to Sir Henry Spelman, is a diminutive of the Saxon word ham, originally meaning a home or habitation, though the sense was afterwards extended to a collection of houses; and hence it is that so many English towns, as Nottingham, Buckingham, and the like, end in this appellation. But, so late as the statute 14 Edward I., an entire ville is described as containing ten freemen, a demi ville as containing five, and a "hamlette" as less than five freemen; and in this sense, as something less than a township, but forming a part of its population, it is used in the present Gazetteer, though no criterion can thus be formed of the size of the place, as it may be merely a manor house with its appurtenances, or it may, like Lees or Chowbent, contain numerous inhabitants. Such is the nature of the work now offered to the public. In the technical parts of a gazetteer, diligence and exactness are the only merits to which a topographer oan lay claim; but the author hopes that, by the extent of the subject, and the variety of matter which has been introduced, his book will afford useful information and agreeable amusement to every lover of the county of Lancaster. LATELY PUBLISHED, BY THE SAME AUTHOR, In Two Volumes, Octavo, price £1. 1s., CONVERSATIONS ON THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND: ILLUSTRATIVE OF EVENTS, INSTITUTIONS, MANNERS, AND LITERATURE, FROM THE EARLIEST AGES ΤΟ THE ACCESSION OF THE HOUSE OF TUDOR. This Work, exhibiting English History in a new and attractive form, is particularly adapted to the general Reader, to young Persons of both Sexes, and to the higher Classes in Schools. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THOMAS And George UNDERWOOD, 32, FLEET STREET. 1830. THE NEW LANCASHIRE GAZETTEER. ADG ABBEY STEAD. See Wyersdale Over. ABBOTS, a hamlet in the township and parish of Coulton, hundred of Lonsdale, north of the sands, 7 miles N. N. E. from Ulverstone. ABOVE TOWN. See Hawcoat above Town. ABRAM, AMBRAM, or ABURGHAM, a township in the parish of Wigan, hundred of West Derby, 4 miles N. N. E. from Newton in Mackerfield. Inhabitants 504. ACCRINGTON, NEW, a township in the parish of Whalley, hundred of Blackburn, 5 miles E. from Blackburn. Inhabitants 4109. Accrington House is the seat of Jonathan Peel, esq. ACCRINGTON, OLD, a chapelry in the parish of Whalley, hundred of Blackburn, 5 miles E. from Blackburn. Inhabitants 1261. Hyndbourn House, in this township, is the seat of Robert Peel, esq. The two townships of Accrington, united, form a very populous and thriving village. Here was formerly a grange belonging to the abbey of Kirkstall, of which the only memorial is a house bearing that appellation, and another structure, recently rebuilt, called the black abbey. Accrington Chase is sometimes considered as a member of Rossendale forest, but more anciently as a portion of the demesnes of Clitheroe. AIG of Urswick, hundred of Lonsdale, north of the sands, 5 miles S. S. W. from Ulverstone. Inhabitants, in 1811, 12. In the return for 1821 the population is included in Urswick. ADLINGTON, a township in the parish of Standish, hundred of Leyland, 4 miles N. from Wigan. Inhabitants 1043. That portion of the cut which for ten miles may, with equal propriety, be called the Lancaster or the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, runs through this township, in which are several coal mines. Adlington Hall, the seat of Sır Richard Clayton, bart., is a handsome brick residence, standing in somewhat a low situation on the borders of an extensive park. The old mansion was of the age of queen Elizabeth, but was rebuilt about the year 1780 by the present owner, whose ancestors have possessed the estate for about two centuries. The house contains some good pictures, especially one of a dead head of Charles I. Ellerbeck Hall, in the township of Adlington, is the seat of John Hodson, esq. ADMARSH CHAPEL. See Bleasdale. AGECROFT, a hamlet in the township of Pendlebury, parish of Eccles, hundred of Salford, 4 miles N. W. from Manchester. Here is a bridge over the river Irwell. Agecroft Hall is the seat ef the Rev. R. Buck. AIGBURGH, or AIGBURTH, a hamlet in the township of Garston, parish of Childwall, hundred of West Derby, 4 miles S. E. from Liverpool. Aigburgh Hall is an ancient mansion, formerly of ADDINGTON, a small hamlet in the township of Nether Kellet, parish of Bolton le Sands, hundred of Lonsdale, south of the sands, six miles N. E. from Lancaster. ADGARLEY, a township in the parish some noté. It was several times resold R in the course of the last century. It is now the seat of William Gibson, esq. AIGHTON, a township with Bailey and Chaigley, in the parish of Mitton, Yorkshire, hundred of Blackburn, 6 miles W. S. W. from Clitheroe. Inhabitants 1487. In this township is Stonyhurst, the magnificent Roman Catholic college. This stately and venerable fabric stands on an eminence, and is screened from the north by the vast bulk of Longridge Fell; it was probably begun by Sir Richard Sherburne, who died 1594, and finished by his son Sir Richard, who died 1628, as the arms of both, with their cypher and the date 1596, appear in the drawing room chimney; the heavy cu polas were added, the canals dug, and the garden laid out in the Dutch taste by Sir Nicholas Sherburne, who came to reside here in 1695. The chapel was formerly above the gateway, but its use has been superseded by a spacious oratory. The size and general disposition of the apartments, the long galleries and spacious hall of Stonyhurst, rendered the whole peculiarly suitable to the purpose to which it was appropriated in the year 1795, by the late Thomas Weld, esq., of Lulworth Castle, Dorsetshire, who granted an advantageous lease of the premises, then in a much dilapidated condition. The recent additions to this establishment are on an extensive scale, and this majestic pile, with its lofty towers and battlements, presents an object of great interest to a large tract of the surrounding country. The population in the neighbourhood has been much bene fited both by the alms and the capital necessarily circulated by a wealthy community. Some conversions to the ancient faith having taken place, have furnished an unworthy cause of complaint and jealousy; as if such cupboard religion could rest on any stable foundation, or spread beyond the precincts in which it thrives and fattens. Stonyhurst came into the possession of Mr. Weld about 1754 by female descent, from the ancient family of Sherburne, which for many ages was one of the most powerful in Lancashire. Of this family was Sir Edward Sherburne a forgotten poet, who was born in London in 1618, and died in reduced circumstances in 1702: he was one of " the mob of gentlemen who wrote with ease in either Charles's days," and was better known by his poetical translations than his original works. The following stanza may suffice as a specimen of his powers, and is, indeed, very characteristic of the general style of the period :— TO CHLORIs. At their brightness, On thy breasts I cast my look, With their whiteness, These all snow and those all fire. AINSDALE, a hamlet in the chapelry of Formby, parish of Walton, hundred of West Derby, 8 miles W. from Ormskirk. AINSWORTH, a chapelry in the parish of Middleton, hundred of Salford, 3 miles W. from Bury. Inhabitants 1609. This chapelry is an insulated part of the parish of Middleton, from which it is separated by Bury. AINTREE, a township in the parish of Sefton, hundred of West Derby, 6 miles N. N. E. from Liverpool. Inhabitants 260. A new race-course having been formed near this village, with great accommodations, the grand stand being inferior to none in the kingdom, the Liverpool races were held here for the first time with much eclat, July 8, 1829. ALCOCKS, a hamlet in the township of Wray, parish of Melling, hundred of Lonsdale, south of the sands, 10 miles E. N. E. from Lancaster. ALDCLIFFE, a township in the parish of Lancaster, hundred of Lonsdale, south of the sands, 1 mile S. W. from Lancaster. Inhabitants 85. Aldcliffe Hall is the seat of Edward Dawson, esq. lerton Hall is the seat of Pattison Ellames, esq. The grounds are laid out with taste, and both the immediate and distant scenery are extremely beautiful. ALLEYS, THE. See Clitheroe. ALLITHWAITE, LOWER, a township in the parish of Cartmel, hundred of Lonsdale, north of the sands, 8 miles E. S. E. from Ulverstone. Inhabitants 839. This township contains the church and part of the town of Cartmel, 3 miles to the south of which is the holy well, a saline spring issuing from the base of a limestone rock, called Humphrey Head, which projects over the Lancaster sands. The Spa, really possessing some valuable medicinal qualities, is much resorted to during the summer months. At a small distance stands Wraysholme Tower, formerly belonging to the Harrington family. ALDINGHAM, a parish and township in the hundred of Lonsdale, north of the sands, 6 miles S. from Ulverstone. Inhabitants 760. A rectory in the archdeaconry of Richmond, value £39 19s. 2d.; patron the king. This village has suffered extremely from the depredations of the ocean. The hall, once the residence of the Le Fleming family, has been entirely swept away. There is a tradition that the church stood in the centre of the parish; at present it is within reach of a high tide, but protected by a rampart of stone. It is almost within the memory of man that some part of the ruins of a village, called Low Scales, was visible in the sands; and the villages of Crimbleton and Rose are known only from record. At the west extremity of the township are some remains of an artificial mount called the Moat or Moot Hill, which was probably the site of the keep of an ancient Norman castle. The situation of Aldingham is remarkably warm and salubrious. The parish contains four townships. Aldingham Lower, Aldingham Upper, Gleaston, and Leece. These townships in 1811 made separate returns, but in 1821 they were included with Aldingham. Entire population 760. ALKINCOATES. See Colne. ALKRINGTON, a township in the parish of Prestwich cum Oldham, hundred of Salford, 5 miles N. N. E. from Manchester. Inhabitants 365. Alkrington Hall, the seat of John Lever, esq., was formerly the residence of Sir Ashton Lever, who commenced his extensive collection of natural and artificial curiosities at this place, merely from the circumstance of having shot a white sparrow. Near Alkrington, but partly in the townships of Blakeley and Moston, is the extensive morass called White Moss. ALLERTON, a township in the parish of Childwall, hundred of West Derby, 5 miles S. E. from Liverpool. Inhabitants 328. In this village are some rude remains called the Calder stones, which are supposed to be Druidical. Al ALLITHWAITE, UPPER, a township in the parish of Cartmel, hundred of Lonsdale, north of the sands, 8 miles E. N. E. from Ulverstone. Inhabitants 771. In this township, near the conflux of the river Winster with the Ken, is a rock called Castle Head, now ornamented with plantations, at the foot of which is the seat of Robert Wright, esq. This mansion was built by the late John Wilkinson, iron master, who has at no great distance a weighty monument of that metal placed over his remains. ALSTON, a township with Hothersall, in the parish of Ribchester, hundred of Amounderness, 6 miles N. E. from Preston. Inhabitants 948. Alston Lodge is the seat of William Buck, esq. ALSTON LANE, a hamlet in the preceding township. ALT, a river which rises in Knowsley Park, hundred of West Derby, and passing by Sefton falls into the sea at Formby it is at first a small trout stream, which, after the winter's flood, inundates the country near Sefton, by reason of the want of a sufficient fall to discharge its waters. ALTCAR, a parish and township in the hundred of West Derby, 6 miles |