YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Bought with the income of the ALFRED E. PERKINS FUND HISTORY OF WIGAN. THE History ob Wigjin. BY DAVID SINCLAIR. VOLUME I. WIGAN : WALL, PRINTER AND PUBLISHER, "OBSERVER" OFFICE, WALLGATE. KENT AND CO., PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 1882. B Oil \ PREFACE TO VOLUME I. KTTGAN has a history — a long and interesting one — and its claims to have that history published are indisputable. Considering its age and advantages, it has by no means, risen to that greatness acquired by some of its neighbours that did not even exist in its infancy ; yet, although of no mean importance now, in proportion to the national progress, it was once one of the greatest and most promising towns in Lancashire. Its history up to the middle ages is chiefly a history of All Saints' Parish Church, and from that period to the end of the last century the history of the church and the burgesses combined. The religious struggles were as keen in it, the progress of trade as important, the rise and progress of the burghal classes as interesting and instructive, the social development as wonderful, the military prowess, the political lethargy or activity as influential, and the traditions as bewitching and bewildering, as those of any town of equal size in England. Few towns can boast of such charters as it possesses or of such an honourable age. Its claims to a written history are, indeed as great as those of any provincial town in England. These volumes are not meant to be an antiquarian work, although information is inserted that must be of interest to the antiquary. My desire has chiefly been to write a history of Wigan for Wiganers. It is a local work. I have laid aside many old MSS. which are only valuable as relics, and I am by no means under the vi. tyveTace. impression that all is here published that has a local connection. Documents from the Record Office, London; rare publications in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh; all papers and books published in connection with the county, the MSS. in the strong room at the Borough Courts, in the Town Clerk's office, the Yestry of the Church, in the custody of the Governors of the Grammar School, &c , I have perused, and yet am sensible that much unpublished matter in the hands of private individuals — and even in those places I have already searched — should be published before a complete history can be obtained, although I think that for the present it is neither desirable nor necessary to do so. Such a labour could only be pursued by an enthusiast of independent means, for even these volumes could never have been undertaken nor executed except by a lover of literary work. Labor ipse voluptas. There has been an occasional divergence from chronological order for the better elucidation of the subject referred to. A history of Wigan is one worthy of the very best illustrations obtainable, but I deeply regret that the insurmountable difficulty of expense prevents me from illustrating these volumes, and I have decided, wisely or unwisely, that it is better not to illustrate them at all than to do so unworthily. Not only could old views of Wigan be obtained for faithful engraving, but fac-similes of many of the old documents which I have had the honour and pleasure of laboriously perusing would be rare curiosities, welcome to the interested reader. Of such documents I may specially mention the charters, poll-books, petitions, Court Leet transactions, old minute books, and the original document constituting the first Common Council, with the autographs of the first members. Assistance in such a work is an absolute necessity, and to accept assistance without acknowledgment is base ingratitude. I have been most kindly received by all from whom I have solicited information, but as I expect that in the prosecution of the work I shall receive further help, I postpone all mention of particular names to the last volume. tyvefacs. vii. I have not considered it necessary to name my authorities for every statement, as a great part of every page would thus unnecessarily be taken up with references. Where very important facts are given references are added, and I here give a list of some of the authors and books whence I have derived much valuable information. Assheton's Journal. Axon's Lancashire Folk-song and Folk-speech. Baines' History of Lancashire. Brpadsheets, Old Newspapers, Civil War Tracts, and MSS. Calamy's Nonconformist's Memorial. Camden Society's Publications. Carlyle's Letters and Speeches of Cromwell. Chetham Society's Publications. Dugdale's Baronage, &c, Forster's Life of Cromwell. Froude's History of England. Green's History of the English People. Gregson's Portfolio of Fragments. Hallam's History of England. Harland and Wilkinson's Legends and Traditions of Lancashire. History of Bolton, Histories of Wales. Hume's History of England. Lancashire and Cheshire Historical Society's Transactions. Lancashire and Cheshire Historical and Genea logical Notes. Lancashire Worthies, by Espinasse. Local Gleanings, edited by J. P. Earwaker, Esq. Lord Campbell's Lives of Chancellors. Macaulay's History of England. Manchester Historical Recorder. Markham's History of England. Milner's History of England. Nichol's Literary Anecdotes. Notitia Cestriensis. Palatine Note Book, edited by J. E. Bailey, Esq. Parliamentary Inquisitions, Lambeth MSS. Pictorial History of Lancashire. Porter's History of the Fylde. Roby's Lancashire Traditions. Strype's Annals of the Reformation Whitelock's Memorial. Wigan Observer Local Sketches. Wood's Athenas Oxoniensis. &c, &c, &c. Colinfield, Wigan, June, 1882. CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. CHAPTER I. PAGE Aborigines of Britain — Romans, Roman Roads, and Roman Remains — Coccio : Why the Saxons chose Wigan as a Site for their Town — -Foundation of Saxon Wigan — Origin of the name " Wigan " — Traditional origin of the name " Winwick " — Arthur, his Historians and alleged Battles — Local Religious War in the 7th Century — The Danes : Their Battles and Devastations — Local Deluge and Famine in the 10th Century 1 CHAPTER II. Norman Conquest — Roger de Poictou — Wigan and the Domesday Book — Local Saxon Families — Wigan now and then— Records of Out-townships — The Conqueror in the North — Slave Trade — Blank in Wigan's History . . . . 16 CHAPTER III. The Rectors of Wigan — John de Mansel — The King — Primitive Burgesses of Wigan — The Church — Wakes — Prices — Customs — Fairs — Guilds — Trial by Jury — Burleymen — Local Self -Government — First Royal Charter — Frankpledge — Wigan Streets — Church Bell — First Burghal Charter — State of Trade — Livings of De Mansel — Cotton and Linen Trade — Ince— Difficulties and end of De Mansel : His Character, by Matthew Paris. . . 24 CHAPTER IY. The second known Rector, De Waleton — Sir Robert Banastre — Justices of the Peace — State of the Streets and Roads — Borough Seal — Jews — Yalue of the Parish Church Living — Wigan, a City of Refuge — Strange Charge against De Waleton and the Burgesses : Their Trial at Lancaster — Wigan deprived of its Chartered Liberties 52 CHAPTER Y. Missing Rectors — Pympton — Fulshaigh — The Bankes of Winstanley — Upholland — Monasteries — First M.P.'s and their Payments — Clyderhou — WyclifFe's Opinion of Parsons — Charter Restored — Clyderhou's Father 61 x. (&0ntent&. CHAPTER YI. PAGE •Origin of Penance in England— The Bradshaighs— Mab's Cross— Wigan and Blackrod Chantries— The Bradshaigh Tomb in the Parish Church .... 74 CHAPTER VII. Edward II. and his People — Civil War — Inquisitions held at Wigan in 1323 — Local Characters implicated in Rebellion — Clyderhou a Rebel by Proxy : His Trial and Result — Cucking Stool — Stratagem of the King for Levying Taxes — Coal — Death of De Clyderhou : His Tomb in Sawley 82 CHAPTER VIII. Soldiers — Military Sports — The Earl of Derby left in Pawn in France — Rectors — John de Winwick — Litigation of De Winwick — Chaddesden, Rector pro tern. — Dawn of the Reformation — Trade and Prosperity of the Borough — Latin and English of New Charter 93 CHAPTER IX. Borough Monopolies — Labour and Capital — De Lostock — Campeden — Sports — Fairs — Chapmen — Tradesmen — Spinning — Wigan College — Church — Charters Ratified 108 CHAPTER X. Introduction of Machinery for making Hats — Preparations for last Feudal Struggle — Lord Darnley — Bos worth Field — Richard's Banner hung in Wigan — The New King — Dreadful Plague — Interesting Wigan Marriage — Bell, Book, and Candle — The Mayor — Valor Ecclesiasticus — Lawsuit about the Advowson of the Church — Decision of the Arbitrator — Another Rector — Grant of Land 117 CHAPTER XI. Dr. Lynacre — Dr. Wyott — Wages and Prices — Earl of Balcarres — Monasteries — The Marklands of Wigan — Catholicism in Mary's Reign — Rectors — Wynwick Chantry — Funeral Customs — M.P.'s — Parish Church — Cotton Law .... 128 CHAPTER XII. Appointment of Mr. Fleetwood — Gambling — Early Marriages and frequent Divorces — Midwives— John Woolton, Wigan Author — Books Fleetwood and Irish Affairs — Bull Baiting, ifcc. — Purring — Superstition — Wrestlin" (&0ntent&. xi. PAGE Tinkers— A Wigan Yet.^Shuttleworth's Accounts — Fleetwood and Social Immorality and Ungodliness — Witches — Francis Sherrington — -William Banks — Fleetwood more Fierce than ever — Lord Derby — New Local Law — The Commissioners — Derby's Seminary, Bell — Fleetwood's Letters to the Lord Treasurer — Lord Derby's Letters — Parish Register — Leland's Account .of Wigan — Printing Press Destroyed — Fanaticism of Lord Derby — Arms on the Windows of the Parish Church in the 17th Century — Quakers — Miles Gerard — Jesuits — Libel on Fleetwood — Wigan Longevity and Population 140' CHAPTER XIII. Monasteries and Grammar Schools — Wigan Scholars of the 10th Century — Wigan Grammar School Wranglers — Old Documents connected with the Wigan Grammar School — Old Head Masters and Ushers — The Masters Publicly Admonished — Salaries — First Wigan Bookseller — A Bookseller's Petition — The Mayor and Aldermen of 1613 — Foundation of the Grammar School — The Bequest of 1596 to the School — Wigan Charities — The Mayor and the School — Lynacre's Library — Subjects Taught — Schoolmasters — School Life — Book of Sports — Petition of the Inhabitants against Abuses in Grammar School — Rules and Regulations 171 CHAPTER XIV. Change and Signs of Coming Trouble — Stanley — The Court and Local Baronetcies — Gerrard Massie — Dispute between the Corporation and the Rector : The Decision — M.P.'s for Wigan — Missionaries of the King in Wigan — Re-building of Chancel in the Parish Church — Fourth Parliament of James I. — Apprentices — Haigh School — Ship Money : Amount paid by Wigan — Dr. Mason — Local Wills — Eve of Revolution — Members for Borough and County — Bell Founding, one of the Staple Trades of Wigan . . . . 19 L CHAPTER XV. First Signs of Revolution — The Inhabitants of Wigan and the Parliamentary Vote — The Corporation — Mayor's Badge — Writ for 1639 — Condition of Wigan at the beginning of the Great Rebellion — Potters of Wigan— Cotton — Flax — State of Roads — Religion in Wigan — Puritans — Education — Excitement during Election — Polling — The new Claimants of the Franchise — Abortive Parliamentary Petition 207 CHAPTER XVI. Members of Parliament for the Borough, from 1295 to 1881 224 THE HISTORY OF WIGAN. CHAPTER I. Aborigines of Britain— Romans, Roman Roads, and Roman Remains — Coccio : Why .the Saxons chose Wigan as a site for their Town — Foundation of Saxon Wigan — Origin of the name " Wigan " — Traditional origin of the name " Winwick" — Arthur, his Historians and alleged Battles — Local Religious War in the 7th Century — The Danes : Their Battles and Devastations — Local Deluge and Famine in the 10th Century. TOWN without age, or of mushroom growth, can have no history, whereas even a village that lays claim to antiquity is as interesting as the last living veteran who has only been a common private in the ranks of a distinguished corps. Wigan has not only existed during nearly two thousand years, but has very frequently figured specially in the national annals. She took her part in instituting and maturing the British Constitution ; stubbornly defended the monarchy during the dark times of headstrong and unbridled revolutions ; shared the misfortunes of defeat, and reaped, the rewards of constancy. Ruthless rebels dismantled her ; special honours were bestowed on her at the command of royalty. In the eyes of old bigoted Protestants, she, having sheltered Roman Catholic heretics in almost every house, seemed as venomous as a nest of hornets; and when Papists had their day of power she humanely protected hunted Protestants, and was often zealous in the wrong. Many of her long list of Parliamentary representatives were distinguished legislators, soldiers, and civilians. Some of her Mayors have been connected with royalty by Vol. I.— 1 2 $i$t0Vlj 0f pttgatt, marriage ties, and many were citizens distinguished for their honest accumulations of great fortunes as well as for pious philanthropy. Many of her sons displayed a bounteous Christian charity, the benefits of which will continue to be reaped to the latest generations. But there are many blots in the pages of her interesting history, which, like antique manuscripts with artistic illuminations, should be preserved and not destroyed, because of having, here and there, a disfigured or musty page. Before, however, proceeding with the work in hand, that of writing a chronological history of this " ancient and loyal Borough," a few words will not be out of place as to the earliest known inhabitants of the locality, and a brief mention of its condition before the Roman invasion. There are two great branches of the Celtic race, the Gaelic, and Cymric or Welsh, and to the former belonged the Albiones, who were the aborigines of Britain. They inhabited the whole of the island when it was invaded by a Belgian colony of Britanni, who were also Celts, but of the Cymric or Welsh branch. They defeated the Albiones and drove them to the north of the island, where they afterwards assumed the name of Caledonians or Picts, and are to this day represented by the Gaels or Highlanders of Scotland, whilst the ancient Britanni are represented by the Welsh. At the same period Ireland was inhabited by the Hiberni, who were overpowered by the Scots in the same manner as the Albiones were by the Britanni. The Scots — meaning wanderers — were a race of invaders hailing from Spain. They conquered Ireland and proceeded to found a colony in Argyleshire, Scotland, for their chief characteristic then, as now, was restlessness tempered with caution. They are to this day found in every inhabited part of the globe, where their restless, migratory nature only gives place to steady caution, when success is achieved or reasonably hoped for. They became very friendly with the Albiones or Picts and were thus faithful allies against the Saxons. It is true that no foreign foe has ever invaded the land of our constitutional monarchy, or "crowned republic." Many a national eye has been furtively glanced at the favoured Isle, set like a gem in the ocean, but serious contemplation has always shown the madness of all schemes of conquest. Once, indeed, the Dutch fleet (June 10th, 1667,) sailed up the Thames as far as Tilbury Fort, destroyed Sheerness and some ships, but no troops were landed. Britain has not always thus been exempt from invasion. Previous to its becoming a monarchical institution race after race invaded it, colonised it, and was expelled from it by some new invader. The Britanni drove northward the aborigines, and the Romans subdued the Britanni ; the Picts and Scots invaded and appropriated the possessions left by the Romans until they were driven back by the usurping Saxons, who in their time were harassed and temporarily subdued by the Danes ; then came the last and o-reatest invasion, with its vast wars of civilisation and advancement. At the first Roman invasion the Britanni inhabited the province of the Brigantes, in which Wigan was afterwards built. These were days of barter, when estates and wealth, according to modern ideas, were little valued. The very habits, character, and conduct of the people may be gathered from their current prices. A horse was worth half a dozen cows, whilst a trained hawk was worth a couple of good horses, and a sword worth a couple of hawks. No better description can be given of these rude forefathers than that of the Latin author, Dion Cassius. He says : — "They never cultivate the land, but live on prey, hunting, and the fruits of trees; for they never touch fish, of which they have such prodigious plenty. They live in tents, naked, and without shoes ; have their wives in common, and maintain all their children. The people share the government amongst them, and they practise robbery without restraint. They fight in chariots, having small, fleet horses ; they have also infantry, who can run very swiftly, and while they stand are very firm. Their arms are a shield and a short spear, on the lower part of which is a bell of brass to terrify the enemy by its sound when shaken. They likewise wear daggers. They are accustomed to brave hunger, cold, and all kinds of toil ; for they will continue several days up to their chins in water, and bear hunger many days. In the woods they live on bark and roots of trees. They prepare a certain kind of food for all occasions, a piece of which, of the size of a bean, prevents their feeling hunger or thirst." Thus at the beginning of the Christian era, when the " Good News " was first proclaimed on the plains of Palestine, our country was under the dominion of heathen mythology. When Christianity, having bid defiance to heathendom, was waging war in the civilised countries of the East, the few inhabitants of our almost unknown island were bowing their knees to idols. Long after the Roman Conquest Lancashire was inhabited by Druid Britons, who, clinging ardently to the most superstitious doctrines and traditions, believed in the transmigration of souls. Their priests were their despotic rulers, in whom they most piously confided. Their rites were of the most savage nature, for they believed that gods, like men, demand vengeance on the transgressor. Prisoners of war or criminals, and, when neither of these could be got, innocent persons were bound by them, placed in large cages of .wickerwork, and burned as sacrifices to their gods. They were not sufficiently civilised to build towns for their social comfort, nor were they able to cultivate the fertile land. Their time was entirely devoted to indolence, hunting, fighting, and worshipping. There were vast forests, moors, and marshes, throughout the country, in which they spent 'their barbarous lives in hawking, or hunting the numerous bears, wolves, wild boars, and beavers. Their manner of living was little superior to that of the animals they hunted, and the best of their shelters, answering the purpose of houses, were not unlike the huts of the modern gipsies. They knew nothing of agriculture until taught the practice by the Romans, who over-ran. nearly the whole country about the beginning of the Christian era. The Romans had discovered the wealth of the land, and being intent on possessing and using it they, according to the great 4 gjtet<«*r of £KH0cm. precept of the conquering Csesar, made roads which, though expensive in construction, were considered the most practicable method of subduing a strange country, especially when rudely inhabited, as Britain then was. At the time of their invasion there were only twenty-eight British cities, which they connected by excellent roads. One of these twenty-eight cities was Winwick, then called, Cair-Guintguic, from which to Wigan traces of Watling street, or the old Roman road, marked by columns or milestones, have been discovered. In no document does the name of Wigan appear at this time, but, strange to say, when it does come into use long afterwards, another name of a very important town — Coccio, which answers in all respects to Wigan, and which some eminent antiquarians give good reasons for believing to have been Wigan — dies out. Coccio was long supposed to be Blackrod, which undoubtedly was on one of the Roman roads, but it was only a supposition, and the antiquarian researches of Mr. Sibson, and Mr. Thicknesse, M.P. for Wigan from 1847 to 1854, seem to prove beyond doubt that it was not Blackrod, but Wigan. Mr. W. Thompson Watkin, an eminent antiquarian, has given good reasons for holding a like belief. The main Roman road passing through Wigan was that from Chester and Warrington to the north. It passed on the east of Goose Green, by Robin Lane End, to the ford on the Douglas, near where Adam's Bridge now stands, and was really the only street in the town, being what is now called WaUgate, Market Place, and Standishgate ; and then, instead of proceeding on the route of the modern Wigan Lane, turned westward, through the Mesnes, along Beggar's Walk between Gidlow Lane and the Railway, and thence to Standish. The other Roman road from Manchester passed through Hindley, Amberswood Common, Hardybutts and Scholes, and crossed the river at the ford where Millgate begins, and where the Rector's water-mills stood. Near the latter ford was built the first Wigan bridge in the time of Edward III. The very existence of these roads in Wigan proves that it must have been a walled town even at this early period, for every Roman iter terminated at a walled station. Although both Standish and Blackrod have been considered by some to have been Roman stations, their claims can be established neither by relics nor records, whereas Wigan has clearly been proved to have been one, and an important one too. From the very circumstance of its having been a Roman station, the likelihood is that neither Blackrod nor Standish — both about three miles from Wigan — were stations, although they were undoubtedly on the Roman highway. The excellent papers on this subject given in the twentieth and twenty-eighth volumes of the " Archajological Journal" should be read by all who wish to follow more fully the researches on this subject. Wigan was the most important local town on the great Roman way, for surely the very existence of these Roman roads— now discovered — proves that it must have been x^cntan SUrofrs emit ^jiontan Remains. 5 an important station. The remains of these roads, coming severally from Preston, Manchester, and Warrington, and meeting in Wigan, are still to be seen. Mr. Sibson says, " The great roads seem to have been about twelve yards in breadth and a yard in thickness. They were first formed with earth, about half a yard in thickness ; the earth was generally covered with a stratum of large pieces of stone, a quarter of a yard in thickness, and the stones were then covered with a layer of gravel, about a quarter of a yard in thickness. When stones were scarce, and particulary when the ground was marshy, the road was formed wholly of earth and gravel." The town Winwick was the residence of Oswald, King of Northumbria, who was killed there whilst fighting against the Mercians in 642. ' Traces of the great Roman road from Winwick are still to be seen beyond Wigan, at Standish, on the one side, and near Ince on the other, and at Blackrod. The Blackrod portion was part of the direct road from Manchester and Ribchester, which joined the Wigan one. Afterwards another road was made from Manchester to Wigan, traces of which have also been recently discovered at the making of the new branch (Midland) railway. All Roman settlements would naturally be on the highway, and Wigan is proved to have been one of them ; for surely antiquarian relics are more to be relied upon as historical guides than the mythical language, records or traditions of romancist authors, who wrote more to please the imagination than with a desire to relate facts. The archaeological remains of Wigan relate a history uncoloured by fancy. It was certainly on the Roman highway, for portions of the highway exist and assert the fact. Tbere was found treasure trove in the to^vn in 1837, which clearly gives it a Roman connection. In clearing away fcome old stonework to make room for modern improvements, the workmen came upon a large collection of much defaced, but still clearly recognisable Roman coins of the reign of Probus, Victorinus, Gallienus, and Tetricus. Two Roman urns and many charred human bones were found near the present site of the Wigan Gas Works. Cremation was an honour bestowed only on the bodies of the great — a custom borrowed from the Romans and practised by the natives from the second to the fifth century. At the restoration of the Parish Church there was discovered a stone, now built into the splay of the tower window of that church, which is believed by antiquarians to be the remains of a Roman altar. (An old Roman altar, dedicated to Fortune by a centurion of a Roman legion, was discovered in Manchester in 1612). These discoveries themselves prove that Wigan must have been a Roman settlement, as it was the custom of the Romans to have at all their stations or settled colonies, and at them only, both a cemetery and a temple. A stern, but useless opposition was made by the ancient Britons of Lancashire against the invasion and settlement of the Romans, who showed the natives no mercy when they defeated them, but cruelly bound them in the wicker-work cages prepared by 6 g)tehw*j cf Stt»i0(wt. themselves for immolating the Romans in. Soon the Roman empire was assailed on the continent, and began to decline. The time for the Roman evacuation was at hand, but great progress had been made in civilising the primitive natives. About 418 A.D. the Roman troops finally left Britain, and the Picts and Scots immediately cast their covetous eyes on England, which they at once invaded with large depredating armies. Ruin, devastation, and desolation marked their progress. Gil das, the first British historian, who was born at Dumbarton, in Scotland, about 500 A.D., represents the Britons as thus bewailing their condition: — "The barbarians drive us to the sea, the sea drives us back to the barbarians. Thus, of two kinds of death, one or other must be our choice, either to be swallowed up by the waves, or butchered by the sword." Thus there was little peace in store for them. The fertility and wealth of the land had become known through the merchants, who had been induced by the Romans to carry on trade between the island and the continent. A new, but at first peaceful invasion, at the request of Vortigern, was made by the inhabitants of the Rhine — Jutes, Angles, and Saxons, the latter of whom divided the districts acquired afterwards by them into hundreds. These invaders were really the same in religion, language, manners, and customs. Vortigern had invited them, as mercenaries, to assist him against the continual harassing and vexatious invasions of the Picts and Scots from Scotland and Ireland. He treated them as good and worthy allies ; but, seeing that the country had great natural wealth, and was pleasing in their eyes, they, by their craftiness, undermined his power, and soon became masters of the situation. The natives fought hard against their ever-growing power, and after a twenty years' war, provoked by the repeated attempts of the Britons to drive them out of the country, hope seemed to die out of the natives altogether, and the victorious Anglo-Saxons spread themselves all over the land, building rude towns, clearing forests, and cultivating the fields. They took possession of Lancashire, and circumvented the natives by their peaceful craft. They naturally explored the country, first along the existing Roman roads, on which, at convenient places, they settled and built hamlets. A body of these colonists settled on the Roman remains at Wigan, for, according to their experienced views, it was specially adapted for the site of a town. It was their custom, under such circumstances, to chose as a place of habitation a hill surrounded by valleys or low land, conveniently near a water supply, so that from this hill in the hollow they could not only obtain the elemental necessaries of life, but be able on all sides to observe the approach of friend or foe. The old Roman camp on the Douglas, or Dhu-glas of the ancient Britons, on the mound-like hill on which the Parish Church of Wigan now stands, was thus the very place of their ideal choice. There they - determined to settle, and first of all rudely fortified their little social colony, according to their wont, by digging trenches and throwing up earthwalls. ®vi$in &f Wye gttwte ™%$iQCln.,, 7 When they had thus fortified themselves against the attacks of marauders they immediately proceeded to erect a place of worship, for a church and fortifications were the foremost and greatest necessities of Saxon town building. They built on the present site of the Parish Church, and, doubtless, on the remains of the Roman temple, if not indeed on the site of the old Druid oak, a rude, but sacred building of wattlework, plastered with clay. Such was the first fortified or fighting town of that Saxon colony. Having built their town, the likelihood is they would at once give it a name, and, although it is presumed that to them it was known to be the old Roman Coccio, they certainly did not give it that name, but, according to their custom, one compounded from their own language. There is always some definite reason for giving a special name to any place, but the names of many old towns, like their inhabitants and customs, have undergone such great changes that their origin cannot be traced. Many are so corrupted as to have no resemblance to the original, whilst many have been replaced by entirely new ones. The etymology and philology of the name " Wigan" are wrapt in much obscurity, indeed no authenticated reason can be given for its origin. Some plausible and many absurd reasons have been suggested, but the most probable hitherto advanced, and the most generally accepted as genuine, is that it is derived from the Saxon word " wig," meaning a fight, and that Wigan is simply the Saxon plural of that word. The local antiquarian discoveries and known history have suggested and favoured this hypothetical derivation, for sufficient human and horses' bones and implements of war have been found on its site to prove it to be the veritable graveyard of armies. If Arthur ever fought at Wigan, it must have been about the time that the Saxon colony settled there, but the untrustworthy historian, Nennius, only says, in reference to Arthur's battles: — "The second, third, fourth, and fifth happened at another river, called the Duggles, in the region named Linius.'' It is doubtful whether Arthur even existed, much more so is it doubtful whether he ever fought at Wigan. The Danes did fight there, and the "barrows" of bones found are most likely the remains of > Dano-Saxon engagements. In all probabilty the Saxons named the town, and had good reasons for giving it its special name. I am disposed to think the termination en or an does not signify the plural of Wig. I think a much more plausible derivation than this is one which I have seen in an obsolete dictionary (Bailey's), where the original name is said to have been Pibiggin, derived from the Latin Pi, and changed by the Saxons to Wi and biggin, a building, and thus the name of the town meant really the sacred edifice itself, the habitations being merely attachments. It is no unusual thing for a town to receive the name of its church. Eccles simply means the church, while Ecclefeghan means the church on the 8 $t«tf P»i0r»n, goods. For some years he continued his mercantile career, and then retired from public life, and, notwithstanding his wealth and former business habits, lived after the manner of the Hebrew Essenes. Some said he was mad ; others that he was the prophet of God. In a few years the traditions of his devotees proved him to many to be Mohammed, the true prophet of God; and his gorgeous temples now number tens of thousands, whilst his followers are innumerable. About the very time his religion was springing into existence, fanatic idolaters were waging bitter war against Christianity in the vicinity of Wigan. Religion has brought about more bloodshed than all other causes of war together. The heathen have at all times proved themselves as zealous enthusiasts for the defence of their paganisms as the most devoted Christians have for their creeds. The first religious wars in Lancashire, where Christianity was concerned, took place in the middle of the seventh century. In 597 the Roman missionaries, as related in connection with the tale of the Angles, or Angels, were well received by the king and people, and the benign influences of Christianity were soon felt all over the land ; but a reaction set in in the north of England when Edwin was king of Britain, from his northern borough town (Edwin's burgh or Edinburgh) to Chester. Edwin was slain at the beginning of the outbreak of fanaticism at Hatfield in 633, and the war was continued by his successor, Oswald, who, when a youthful exile, had found refuge with the missionaries of Iona, and was converted by them. One of his first regal acts was to send there for missionaries, the first of whom, in hopeless despair, returned to his monastery with the intelligence that the people of Lancashire were so stubborn and barbarous as to make the introduction of Christianity an impossibility. Such was the unflattering account taken back of the Lancashire bigoted Pagans. But the monks, holy and hopeful men, blamed the severity of their unsuccessful brother more than the ignorant stubbornness of the natives, and another attempt was made with great success. The chief monk Aidan, who next came as missionary, wandered from town to town through Chester, Wigan, and all Yorkshire and Northumbria, with the good king as his interpreter. The hospitable King Oswald, who often gave the viands on his own table to the numerous poor at his gates, devoted his life to the harassing battles of the Cross, and fell at last in the great cause on the battlefield near Maserfield, when fighting against Penda, the defender and champion of Paganism (642). About 300 years after this, the doctrines of Christianity having been generally accepted, a copy of the Anglo-Saxon bible was placed in every church, having been translated by the king's order into the native tongue. Wigan was a very extensive parish, and in its church would, no doubt, be placed the sacred book in the native tongue, which could only be read by the priests to the poor parishioners who were eager for the gospel news. ®Jje g)tme« at gBTiaaw. 13 The Danes, pirates of the seas and robbers of nations, invaded England at the end of the eighth century, and for a hundred years, during many invasions, they ravaged the land, destroyed towns, laid waste fortifications, and carried off everything of any value, neither too big nor too heavy. Their visits caused a revolution. The quiet agricultural progress of the inhabitants was arrested, and life and property became so uncertain and unsafe that laws were disregarded, and perfect anarchy reigned until the time of Alfred the Great, who wrought such marvellous changes in the conduct of the people and the government that dishonesty seems literally to have been frightened out of the country. Of all towns taken and ravaged by these Danes none suffered more than Chester, which, after they left the country, was virtually a walled city without an inhabitant. One of the excellent highways of the country passed through Wigan to Chester, and thus the invaders in all likelihood despoiled Wigan, as well as other places, especially as it was a fortified town and lay on their route. So great were the depredations and destruction of these Northmen that, among many other contingent taxes, one had to be levied for the restoration of the castles and town walls destroyed by them, and such a terror had they become to the country that the inhabitants willingly paid their Dane-gold, or tax of Ethelred the Unready, to buy them off. The three most important taxes imposed in Wigan and other large towns at this time were, one for the repairs of highways and bridges (although there was no bridge at Wigan, for the Douglas was forded there then, and for centuries after), one for the maintenance of the army, and another for the repairs and restoration of towns, castles, and town walls. A stubborn resistance was everywhere offered to the Danes, and they showed an equal determination to conquer. They were attacked by the inhabitants of the walled towns, for the men in these — and sometimes the women, too — were trained to arms from youth. In every probability several engagements must have been fought in the neighbourhood of Wigan, some of which local wars were those which are generally ascribed to Arthur. Wigan must have been one of the most important military stations on the great Roman road, which the Danes undoubtedly traversed on their way to Chester ; and can it be supposed that, contrary to all Danish characteristics, they laid waste with fire and sword all other towns and yet passed the fortifications of Wigan unmolested ? The buried bones that have been exhumed from local " barrows " must be the remains of Saxon and Danish opponents, and the blood that is said by old chroniclers to have dyed the Douglas for several days during the Arthurian battles is likely to have been that of the Danes and Saxons, who fell during the engagements which took place in the ninth century. The Danes had destroyed many of the fortifications of Lancashire, but Edward the Elder took a very great interest in restoring and repairing what they had 14 $tetovxj of %&iaan. overthrown. Several of these towns the king himself visited in 923, and the repairs of Manchester and Thilwell are specially mentioned, but as he and his father were constantly building and repairing in the neighbourhood, Wigan was doubtless one of the other towns attended to by his orders. The beneficial influences of Christianity were making marked effects on the progress and manners of the people. They had become, comparatively speaking, extensive cultivators of the soil, and, indeed, exported much grain to the continent. Cheese was also largely exported. Agriculture was the favourite pursuit of the better classes, who all had several slaves in their service. Nomadic habits had given place to those of social settlement. There were many improvements in the dwellings. The houses of Wigan were of a more solid and substantial nature. At first they were but rudely thatched, gipsy-like, huts, with holes in the walls for windows, and an opening in the roof for a chimney, whereas the gentry now lived in wooden edifices. Families, slaves, and dogs lived and fed in the same house and room. Swine's flesh was the chief food at dinner — an early meal — after which it was not unusual for all to get drunk, especially the clergyman if he happened to be present. The men were soldiers in times of war, and hunters, or cultivators of the field, in times of peace. Ladies were expert at needlework, and generally wove all the cloth and made all the clothes. The rude church was adorned with modern sculptures or pictures, not for the remotest purposes of idolatory, but simply as modest means of enlightening ignorant people, for priests only could read. Unfortunately, nothing further has been recorded concerning Wigan at this period except that it was visited in 923, like other neighbouring towns, by a storm that seemed to the inhabitants to be another Deluge. Great progress had been made in agriculture, and the people were entirely dependent on the produce of the land, which, being virgin soil, required no skilled or scientific management, but simply ploughing and casting in of the seed, to insure a manifold crop ; but in this disastrous year the crops were destroyed. The destruction of these easily-gained crops meant that the inhabitants were deprived of their national food and brought to the very verge of famine. The yeomen of the town, or those who had acquired a lease of patches of ground from the lord of the manor, were impoverished and their slaves and dependents reduced to starvation. Disease and death followed the famine, and the better classes had to resort to, and wholly depend on, their hunting. This was but one of the many plagues and famines in which Wigan was destined to participate. It seemed to foretell that her whole career would be chequered, as some youthful ailments certainly retard the healthy growth, and leave their effects clinging to a long, sickly, life. Desolation and despair reigned in her streets during every national plague, and she had special visitations that brought short-lived agony, and almost certain death to many, often leaving the survivors in reckless despair, as men, who, looking upon their •gJUirtcm ~%}laane&. 15 yawning graves without seeing any hope beyond, eagerly devour the mad, insatiable pleasures that are momentarily presented to them. Such insanity of despair as is begotten by dearth of food, and, seemingly, the inevitable certainty of death, have developed such orgies in her midst that religion has held its breath at the daring of frenzied humanity, whilst men of sober thinking have marvelled at the stupendous sacrileges committed by Christian men and women. At the end of the sixteenth century Wigan was frequently the house of lamentation and woe, and in 1648 the desolations of war were added to the ravages of famine and pestilence. Often have oriental pests laid a large percentage of her inhabitants in early graves, and, worst of all, the scarcity of work for able and willing hands has frequently visited upon her the most cruel distress. But of these and many others, with their accepted lessons of wisdom, which she has overcome and survived, mention will be made in due order. CHAPTER II. Norman Conquest — Roger de Poictou — Wigan and the Domesday Book — Local Saxon Families — Wigan now and tlien — Records of Out-townships — The Conqueror in the North— Slave Trade — Blank in Wigan's History. fHERE are strange coincidences in the histories of men and nations. Man goes through his cycles of change and decay, and so do nations, although, in both §?J(3 cases, many nations and men disappear without reaching maturity. The mutability even of nature, from youth to old age, has many marked stages. Impetuous youth is far more severe with human failings than sedate old age. The trials and experience of active life smooth the ruffled tempers and dispel melancholy, as the ever restive ocean smooths the rugged rocks into symmetrical pebbles. Internecine and foreign wars have been the fierce agents of civilisation in bringing countries to national eminence. As change of habit often changes a man's countenance, so do the rapid strides of civilisation change the manners, customs, and even physical appearance of a country. A small accident, or an insignificant incident, often changes a man's career, and the success or failure of a policy may increase, or mar, the glories of a kingdom. There are few old men, successful or otherwise, who cannot look back upon some special turning point in their career. So, too, there are eras in a nation's history, and the most marked epoch in the youth of our country is the Norman Conquest. One of the most distinguished generals at the battle of Hastings, in 1066, was Roger de Poictou, the Conqueror's cousin, who gallantly led the centre division of the Norman hosts. To the faithful Normans were given the estates of defeated Saxons. To Roger de Poictou, for his military daring and success, were given no less than 398 manors, in different parts of the country, one of which was Newton, in which Wigan was situated. He had been faithful to the Duke, and he himself had many such followers equally anxious and deserving to share the spoil, and as he could afford to give great rewards he bestowed the barony of Newton on his faithful friend and follower, Warinus Banastre. Unfortunately, De Poictbu, so richly rewarded, was Qoms&oatj ^ooh, 17 unfaithful to his king during the Saxon rebellions, and for his misconduct was deprived of his baronies, so that the estates of Newton became the king's property, although Banastre still retained them as Baron. The result of this disloyalty was that Wigan was rrst mentioned in the celebrated Domesday Book, because the king held all the lands between the Ribble and the Mersey, the value of which was given, according to the custom of inquiring about royal demesnes, without specially naming all the divisions and subdivisions. The value of all this land taken from De Poictou, from the Ribble to the Mersey, is stated in the Domesday Book to be ,£120, and if £1 then were reckoned as worth £120 now, its value in present money would only have been £14,400; yet, when the property tax existed in 1814, the same land was valued at £2,569,761, showing an increased value of £2,555,361. Upholland and Orrell were not in the Newton barony, and have the distinguished honour of being mentioned in Domesday Book. Banastre, the patron of Wigan, was a second-rate baron, or baron of the county, holding his barony from another at a nominal fee. In the reign of William II. the confiscated estates were again given to Poictou, with the hope that he might espouse the cause of the usurper, which he did ; but on the death of Rufus he declared for the real heir, Robert, against the recognised king, Henry, for which he was again deprived of all his estates, and banished in 1101, and the Banastres became chief barons, under De Musli and Greslet, and were succeeded by the family of Langton in the reign of Edward I. At this epoch of English history many new families settled in the neighbourhood of Wigan, as well as in other pares of the kingdom. Estates were taken from the Saxons and given to the Normans, who sold part of their possessions to Normans or Saxons who were willing to pay. In a few instances estates were given back to Saxon holders who gave proof of their adherence to the king. Such was the case with the old Saxon family of Bradshaigh. There also settled on the estates of Haigh and Blackrod, shortly after this, the Norries or Norrys, after whom came the Bradshaighs by the marriage of Mabella Norries, heiress of her father's vast estates, to Roger Bradshaigh, and then again by marriage Haigh came into the possession of the present honourable family of Crawford or Lindsay. Albert Gredle, the third Baron of Manchester, whose name, by the way, is spelled in thirty-four different ways, gave one knight's fee or six caralcytes in Dalton, Parbold, and Wrightington, to Orm (whose name is still preserved in Ormskirk, Ormeshaw, Ormsher), son of Ailward, when he married his daughter Emma early in the Norman period. Because of the possession of this property Orm would have to provide one juryman to attend the assize court at Lancaster. The fourth Baron Gredle gave three car^cytes to Thomas Perpoint, in Rivington, and for ten shillings he gave two cara^cvltes in Heaton to WilKam Norres, who was doubtless connected with the Norries of Haigh. The Vol. I.— 3 18 ^teXovvf of St>i0rttt. same baron sold two oxgangs of land for three shillings to Henry of Lathom. A caracute was as much as could be tilled in one year by one plough and extended to eight bovates or oxgangs, an oxgang being thirteen acres. The law of primogeniture was not so sternly severe on younger sons then as now. All entailed estates which had come to the father as eldest son were the legal inheritance of the eldest son, but those which came into the family as part of the dowry of the mother were the legal possessions of the second son. The other sons were generally allowed to struggle for possessions and distinctions for themselves, and because they inherited no property were customarily called "Sansterre," for which reason, too, King John received that ill-omened surname long before he lost his French possessions. The Standish estates belonged to Warin Bussel, the Baron of Penworth, but when his daughter was married to Richard Spilman she received the Standish Hall estates as part of her dowry. Their eldest son inherited the entailed estates of Spilman, but the second son, who was called Standish, received the Standish estates, which had been his mother's dowry. He was the first of the Standish family. The Saxons divided their districts into hundreds, and Wigan was situated in the hundred of West Derby and barony of Newton, but as it is not specially mentioned in the Domesday Book, Beamont's translation concerning the whole district may be here stated : — " The whole manor, with the hundred of Blackburn, yielded the king a rent of thirty-two pounds and two shillings. Roger de Poictou gave all the land to Roger de Busli and Albert Greslet, and there are so many more who have eleven caracutes and a half, to whom they have granted freedom for three years, wherefore it is not now valued." The great barony of Newton was not actually brought to the hammer, like many valuable estates of ancient and noble families, but was disposed of by private bargain in 36 Elizabeth (1549) for £1000. The advowson of the different parishes, however, was withheld. In the indenture tripartite it is distinctly stated that from sale are excepted the advowson of the Rectory of Wigan, and all the messuages, enclosed lands, tenements, meadows, and grounds belonging thereto. In clear weather an extensive and pleasant view may be obtained from the Parish Church tower ; yet, although the contour lines of the surface of the earth are but slightly changed, the difference of scenery between this period of the borough's history, and that of the nineteenth century, is very great. A few straggling houses of very primitive construction, in close proximity to the church, was the town. Those on the south-east side of the church and south side of tho Roman road were chiefly occupied by yeomen and their slaves ; those on the north-west, or Hallgate, were inhabited by the retainers and slaves of the rector ; a few houses on the western glnrfmt SttH0(m. 19 slopes, by the side of the Roman road, were tenanted by yeomen* and tradesmen, whose lands, in size like Irish farms, lay westward of the town; a few houses in Millgate and Standishgate completed the town. Every man's cottage could not be said to be his castle, for it would have been an easy matter to storm and take it. The walls of the town, and the united strength of the inhabitants, were the bulwarks in which they put their trust. On the sacred precincts was the churchyard, in which the already ancient rude forefathers of the town lay, whilst over the beds in which their unconscious bodies rested stray, burghers' swine burrowed the ground or roughly cropped the rank grass, in the absence of the burleyman. Within a few yards of the consecrated ground, on the southern side, was the widened part of the old Roman way, which might be seen stretching away westward, with winding gracefulness, over the ford and into the forest. About a hundred yards eastward the sister Roman road from Manchester met this westward one from Chester. From the church to where these roads met, with the fields sloping from the Market-place to the wall at the Mesnes, was an open space, or common ground, on which the rector allowed his burghal tenants to graze their swine and cattle. Where the two roads met, and almost on the site of the present Royal Hotel, stood for centuries after the old ale-house. There were no carriages to wear away these well-made roads, and from the mere want of use even traces of them were beginning to disappear in many places. Travellers either proceeded on foot or on horseback, and the appearance of a stranger was certain to bring out the whole staring and wondering population. On every side was to be seen a vast, undulating forest, with patches cleared here and there for purposes of farming. From a bosky glen in the east, lying under the wooded heights of Haigh, issued the clear Douglas, and glided murmuringly along the eastern valley, with its long southern and gently sloping fertile fields, and then was quickly lost in the great forest of the west, that seemed to cover the whole space as far as the modern Ashurst Beacon. On the highway in the north might be seen the Parish Church of Standish, with its hamlet around. Now the scene is different ; instead of forests of trees, and little farms ill-tilled, with a clear stream running through the vast undulating plain, and a few scattered houses for a town, with a solitary church standing in its centre, there is a thickly-populated district, with a great filthy river-drain running through its midst. There are now (1881) 290 streets in the borough (which covers 2,188 acres), a population of 48,192, whilst in the Wigan Onion (covering 48,396 acres) there are 139,867 inhabitants. In the Borough there are 6,097 Parliamentary, and 6,949 Municipal, voters. Factory chimneys are more numerous than remaining old trees; mills, pits, foundries, and engineering establishments teem with industrious thousands who "earn whate'er they can." Instead of a great slave population there are over a score of cotton factories, 20 ®i*tiwtr of gttfi0«*tt. and thousands of» fairly intelligent men and women working, at the most, ten hours a day in these busy hives of local industry. The pattering .music of such an array of feet in Flemish clogs alarms and arouses the stranger from his morning slumber, and amuses him on the return at night as the intelligent eyes beam from the happy countenances peering from the shawl-covered heads. Thousands of men, of blackened countenances, determined wills, and callous looks, yet with honest and genial hearts, and uncouth, obliging manners, mostly sharing in the elective franchise, supply us with the comforts of home from the bowels of the earth. Engineering establishments provide an abundance of remunerative work to the skilled artisan, and prosperous tradesmen supply the wants of all. All professions and creeds are well represented. There are numerous churches, chapels, and schools, a public park, and institutions affording opportunities for self -culture. Of public buildings there are yet few, but such as do exist are excellent. Everywhere there are signs of unmistakeable prosperity and contentment ; but the rise, establishment, and progress of all burghal prosperities will be noticed in detail in chronological order. The denizens of the vast neighbouring forests were wild boars, wild cattle — ancestors of the present Chillingham breed — wolves, foxes, and deer. These were more carefully protected by the forest laws than the inhabitants were by their charters. Fine, mutilation, and death were the punishments for breaking these laws, and the barons, who had the power of hanging and drowning, were not slow to execute the laws. In 1286 no less than forty-eight persons were arraigned before the Lancaster assize court for killing and taking deer, but fines and imprisonment were the only punishments inflicted. In the time of Henry VII. two members of the Boteler (Butler) family, of Bewsey, Warrington, were tried at the assize for slaughtering two wild bulls. The last wild boar in the county was said to have been killed by the Earl of Lancaster, John of Ghent, son of Edward III. It may be mentioned here that there are more authenticated deeds about Hindley and some of the out-townships relating to early history than for Wigan itself. The Hindley deeds have been printed by John Leyland, Esq., of the Grange, Hindley, and of themselves afford sufficient matter for writing an interesting history, but to write of them fully here would only be to swell these pages without doing justice to Hindley, and therefore Hindley and other townships will only be mentioned when their history directly concerns Wigan, the mother parish. It took seven years of hard labour before William could justly claim the title of Conqueror. The south and east willingly submitted, but Mercia and Northumbria refused. The friendships of nations vacillate like those of individuals. A nation that is now a faithful ally may be in the next generation a deadly foe. Before the Conquest the Saxons would have done anything to drive the Danes out of the ®Jjjj <&onquevov in "giVigan. 21 country, but after the Conquest they humbly besought their assistance, which was given in a. most substantial way, with the ulterior intention, undoubtedly, of being themselves the lords of the island. With the Danish assistance the whole of the north and west rose in rebellion, and William swore " by the splendour of God " to take a terrible revenge. He did so, and shared the suffering himself. The whole district of York was laid waste and the harvests destroyed, and, as a natural consequence, famine ensued. His own soldiers were so dreadfully overcome by hunger and fatigue that the mercenary part of them demanded a release from their obligation, which he scornfully granted, whilst the other portion of them was so reduced as to be thankful to have an opportunity of killing and eating the horses. He marched from York to Chester, and would certainly march through Wigan So very severe was the winter during his march that the roads were in many places blocked by snow-drifts, and the Douglas and other minor rivers swollen into great and rapid torrents. The natives rejoiced at his difficulties and mutinies, and trusted that the elements were working for the destruction of a foe whom they feared. He erected numerous castles to defend the districts he had so dearly bought. He broke up the great earldoms into smaller estates, which he bountifully gave to his faithful followers, who had each to kneel before him and humbly vow, "I become liege man of yours for life and limb and earthly regard, and I will keep faith and loyalty to you for life and death ; God help me." Thus, too, each under-tenant swore to his superior, and so, by this feudal system' of military tenure throughout all England, there was an army ready to rise at the king's command. At this period, and for centuries after, slavery was quite a recognised trade in the country. Englishmen and English children brought a high price in the foreign market. Pope Gregory was so well pleased with the appearance of several youthful English slaves in the markets of Rome, that he inquired kindly of the owners from whence they came ; and when he was told they were heathen Angles, from the country of Deiri, and subjects of King Alia, he replied, " These Angles, angel-like, should be delivered from (De)ira, and taught to sing Allaluia,." In Wigan and other towns children were bought or kidnapped, carried to the slave market towns, of which Bristol was the chief, and then transported by professional traders to other countries. Liverpool was not yet even a parish, much less a slave town. William the Conqueror, however, made this slave trade illegal, although it still clandestinely flourished. But surely no kind of slavery could be worse than that which was sought to be placed on poor idle beggars by an Act passed in 1547 to suppress vagabondage. Thus ran the law : — " All former Acts against vagabonds and sturdy beggars being repealed, it is provided that every man or woman, not being prevented from working by old age, lameness, or disease, who shall be found 22 Qi&tovn of gte»i0CTO. loitering or wandering, and not seeking work, during three days, or shall leave work when engaged, may be lawfully apprehended and brought before two justices of the peace ; who, upon confession, or on the proof of two witnesses, shall immediately cause the said loiterer to be marked with a hot iron on the breast, the mark being V, and adjudge the said person living so idly to his apprehender to be his slave." The apprehender was " to have and hold the slave for two years ; and only giving him bread and water and refuse food, to cause the said slave to work, by boating, chaining, or otherwise, at such labour, how vile soever it be, as he should put him unto." If, on again running away, the slave was apprehended and convicted, the punishment was increased. He was to be branded on the forehead or cheek with the letter S, and condemned to life-long servitude with his apprehender, or he might be sold to anyone who would " starve, chain, and beat him according to the tenour of this statute." The first part of Wigan's history can only be written from relics, and a dubious sentence in Arthurian history ; but from the time of the Conqueror to the thirteenth century there is but a long blank of conjecture, with a few stones of Norman architecture that remain, like solitary historical sentinels of the period. It is the last great blank, but it is justifiable to say that, even in that time, it was a town in a very prosperous state, for when it is next mentioned it is said to be one of the opulent and influential towns of England. From the thirteenth century there is a chain of evidence which, when followed up, reveals its history from then to the present day, a period of six centuries. That history is gathered from local references in other authenticated old histories, old documents lately published, or for the first time publicly appearing in these pages, from charters, letters, registers, and the churchwardens' accounts, (fee. Among the most influential local families of this early period were those of ' Norrys, Winstanley, Worsley, Standish, Banastre, Gerard, Farington, &c. Edmund de Winstanley, in 1239, married one of the Standishes, and was also connected with the Worsleys of Worsley. Farmers, and not farmers only, are always growling and grumbling about the weather, and wishing for the good old seasons ; but how would they like a repetition of seasons as thus chronicled : — In 1086 a very heavy season, and a swinkful and sorrowful year in England in murrain of cattle, and corn and fruits were at a standstill, and so much untowardness in the weather as a man may not easily think ; because of the badness of the weather 1087 was a very heavy and pestilential year in this land, in winter there was so great a famine over all England that many men died a miserable death through hunger; 1089 was a very late year in corn and every kind of fruits, so that many men reaped their corn about Martinmas $ab $&a#on#. 23 and yet later ; 1095 was very unseasonable, in consequence of which throughout all this land were all the fruits of the earth reduced to a moderate crop ; 1096 was a heavy-tried year through all England, both through the manifold tributes and also through the heavy -tried hunger that sorely oppressed this earth ; in 1097 a very heavy-tried year in all things, and beyond measure laborious for badness of weather, both when men attempted to till the soil, and afterwards to gather the fruits of their tilth ; 1098 was a very troublesome year through manifold impositions, and from the abundant rains that ceased not all the year, nearly all the tilth in the marsh lands perished; 1103 was a calamitous year, murrain of cattle and scarcity of crops. The chronicler depicts almost every year up to 1131 as being a repetition of famine and murrain, and yet there was less grumbling than there is now with the advantages of sanitation and drainage. CHAPTER III. The Rectors of Wigan — John de Mansel— The King— Primitive Burgesses of Wigan — The Church — Wakes — Prices — Customs — Fairs — Guilds — Trial by Jury — Burleymen — Local Self -Government — First Royal Charter — Frankpledge — Wigan Streets— Church Bell— First BurgJial Charter — State of Trade — Livings of de Mansel — Cotton and Linen Trade — Ince — Difficulties and end of De Mansel : His Character, by Matthew Paris. [HE Rectors of Wigan must have been born under lucky stars, for when men once obtained that rural living, it generally proved but an adjunct to others. <||» Yet, how different, and often indifferent, were their characters. Some were philosophical divines, others psychological guessers, some scientific dabblers, others distinguished literati. Some were most enthusiastic bigots, while others were most pliable latitudinarians, and not a few were hard students, seeking fortune and fame ; but in one peculiarity there was uniformity ; they were all, in olden times, pluralists. Temporal necessities were first served, as they were of the first importance. The battle-field was the road to glory, and the Church was the sure path to wealth, the desire for which grows stronger with every new possession. No wonder, then, that clerical ambition soared not to the cross and crown, but to society and lucre. No wonder the tastes of the age were studied and fostered by future .rectors and bishops. Preferments were seldom given for zeal in visiting the poor, the fatherless and widows in affliction, but rather were the first-fruits of a glib tongue and sycophantic manner in the mediaeval drawing-room. As education spread, the human failings of bishops and priests became a part of the popular knowledge, and, human-like, they and their offices were equally condemned because they were considered inseparable, and new philosophies of freer thought, new sects and creeds sprang up, so much so that the simple apostolic doctrine first introduced into England was divided into over a hundred sects, while many believed that all creeds were unreasonable, misleading, and wrong. The church was supposed to be crumbling into ruins through exposure and neglect ; but in all ages there have been and will be pessimists who lament the degeneracy of all things in their own time, and bewail the irreparable loss of the golden past. gtet x*f tJjjj ^lectors of %&iaan. 25 Date of Institution. Rectors. On whose Presentation. Cause of Vacancy. Before 1245... 1299-1300... Sept. 22, 1303...1309... June 15,1334... 1344... April 26, 1349... July 10,1359... Sept. 4, 1359... Jan. 4, 1361... Aug. 24, 1370,) andwasliving > in 1400 J 1441... Aug. 9, 1503... Aug. 16, 1506... Oct. 10, 1519. Aug. 8, 1543. March 2, 1554. Aug. 9, 1558. Feb. 8, 1571 Oct. 1604... Oct. 12, 16041615 About 1645... 1662.1668.1672. 1686.1689.1700.. April 30, 1714.. May 12,1740., July 9, 1750.. July 30,1776.. July 30,1790.. Eeb. 26, 1801.. Jan. 4, 1833.. 1864.. John de Mansel. Pympton (?) Robert de Gliderhou ... Richard Eulshagh (?) John de Langton John de Craneno John de Winwick Henry de Chaddesden... Richard de Langeton ... Rob. de Lostock Walter de Campeden . . . James de Langeton ... James Lanton (?) Thomas Langton Rich. Wiot (or Wyett) Thomas Lynacre, M.D. Richard Langton Richard Kyghley John Harbert Richd. Smyth Richard Gerard Thomas Stanley, Bishop of Sodor and Man Edward Fleetwood [Bryan Vincente] Gerrard Massie John Bridgeman (afterwards Bishop of Chester). James Bradsha we Chas. Hotham (ejected 1662) Geo. Hall, Bishop of Chester John Wilkins, do. John Pearson, do. Thos. Cartwright, do. Nicholas Stratford, do. Edward Finch. Samuel Aldersey Roger Bridgeman Shirley Coates Guy Fairfax George Bridgeman Hon. Geo. Bridgeman Henry John Gunning Hon. G. T. O. Bridgeman.. John de Langeton. Robert de Langeton ... Ditto.Edward III. Held for John de Winwick during some litigation ; died 1354. Robert de Langeton. Ditto John, Earl of Lancaster (minority of Ra. Langton) Ralph de Langeton Trustees of another Ralph, deceased. Henry VII., by minority of Thos. Langton, son and heir of Ralph Thomas Langton Thomas White. Ditto Ditto Edward, Earl of Derby, by grantof Thos. Langton,Kt. John Fleetwood and Peter Farington, patrons for this turn on the grant of Sir Thomas Langton, Knt. King James. Sir Orlando Bridgeman Trustees of ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Sir John Bridgeman, Wm., Lord Digby, and Orlando Bridgeman, Esq Sir John Bridgeman, Bart., and Wm., Lord Digby ... Ditto Sir Henry Bridgeman Sir Henry Bridgeman, Richd, Hopkins, and John Heaton Orlando, Lord Bradford, Hon. J. Simpson, & Hinton Earl of Bradford Ditto Death of Robert de Cliderhou. Resignation of Richard de Langeton. Resignation of Robert de Lostock. Death of Walter de Campe den. Death of Thomas Langton. Resignation of Richd. Wiot. Death of Richd. Kyghley. Ditto. Death of Richd. Smyth. Death of last Incumbent. Resignation of last Incumbent Sequestration of Dr. Bridge- man. Removal of Bradshaw for not observing the Parliamentary Fast, 1st June, 1650. Ejection of Charles Hotham Death of BiBhop Hall. Death of Bishop Wilkins. Death of Bishop Pearson. Death of Bishop Cartwright, Resignation of Edward Finch Death of Samuel Aldersey. Death of Roger Bridgeman. Death of Shirley Coates. Cession of Guy Fairfax. Cession of Geo. Bridgeman. Death of Hon.G. Bridgeman. Resignation of Sir H. J. Gunning, Bart. Vol. I.— 4 26 gjteturij of %&i$f %$tiacm gaiv. 31 and despoiled by iconoclasts. There material doles have been given to the poor, while the rich were spiritually sent empty away. An Irish wake is a mere meeting of friends who feast and drink in the presence of the dead lying in state, but an old English wake was a very different thing. It was the religious ceremony of a whole parish. In Wigan the great wake of the year was on the eve of All Saints, to whom the Parish Church is dedicated. All Saints' Day is one devoted to all saints and martyrs, who have not been sufficiently honoured by having a day set apart specially to each individual. This is a necessity, as there are at most only 366 days in one year, whereas of saints and martyrs their numbers are legion. The parishioners gathered together in the churchyard and in the church, and kept vigil by praying and feasting all night. Booths were erected outside, where festive provisions could be obtained. People came from long distances to join in the feast, and in many cases took away provisions with them for their famiUes, so much so that these wakes were actually the origin of fairs, as larger amounts of provisions were annually required for the night and for home consumption. Pipers, or musicians, answering to our modern bands, used to play the people to church, and, by-and-bye, there was less praying inside than attention to the lively airs of the pipers outside, for there are many people who cannot have music without tripping to its notes. The churchyard became the scene of festive dances, or rings of lads and lasses who kissed adroitly at every pause of the music, whilst the booths, or temporary taverns, were patronised by idle men and gossiping women, who scrupled not to carry their beer within the sacred edifice, and drink it amid the noisy laughter of unholy jokes, and thus turned the, originally, purely religious ceremony into a ribald meeting productive of every social evil. To such fashionable carousals people would willingly and naturally flock, and, of course, persons of a speculative character would use their utmost endeavours to make money at them. Inducements were held out to the people to come to the feast by caterers for public amusements ; games, also, of all sorts were introduced, in which the public were the competitors, and useful articles, cakes, and treacle-loaves, were the prizes. Bull-baiting, horse-racing, donkey-racing, foot-racing, sack-racing — often for ladies — fiddle matches, and cock-fighting, and such like, filled up the programme for the day. Such things brought the people to Wigan in great numbers; the townspeople got their pence for providing them with food and pleasure, and many country people brought their wares to vend to any buyers. So desecrated at all fairs did this consecrated ground become, by these originally nocturnal revels, that the Reverend Mr. Fleetwood (aided by Lord Derby), the great purger of his period, summarily put a stop to them. Land and provisions were at a low price, but money was scarce, so much so that a coin of the realm was quite a curiosity for many of the dependent classes to 32 &tetovtj of p»{0att. behold. A bull cost four shillings ; a sheep with fine wool tenpence ; whilst one with coarse wool was only worth sixpence, showing that the wool was much more valuable than the flesh. Swine's flesh was the principal animal food, and a sow or boar cost twelvepence. Hugh le Norris, i.e., the Norwegian, held a carve of land in Blackrod, for which he paid two marks and two horses for the chase ; whilst Hugh Blackrod held one carve of land and a charter- from the king for a mere nominal price. But for the happy and opportune innovations of the Normans, the Anglo-Saxons might have exterminated themselves by their semi-savage habits, for they ate till they were satiated and drank till they were sick. When not at war they spent their time at carousals, with the concomitant consequences. The Danes, whole armies of whom were often found helplessly drunk, strengthened the natives' habitual wish for intoxicating pleasures, and, however beneficial the influences of the Norman social civilisation, these habits were very far from being eradicated. Men and women met in town taverns, were joined by dissolute monks and priests, drank their ale and mead, a decoction from honey spiced with herbs, with all the natural results of debauchery — dancing, immorality, headache, and reflection. Several drank from the same cup, even at the feasts of the better classes ; both ladies and gentlemen were requested to wipe their mouths carefully before drinking, " lest any grease " should get into the cup or horn, and so make the wine disagreeable for the next imbiber. Public documents relating to the affairs of the ancient borough have by no means been tended with that religious and jealous care apparent in other English towns. Recently, historically speaking, their remains have been collected and buried in a strong chest that looks like a mausoleum erected by moderns to commemorate the ancients. What a trunk ! what an official tomb it is ! Chaos, oblivion, abode of dust and of rubbishy papers which ought long ago to have made their second journey through the mill. It is a burgh dust-bin where papers, parchments, accounts, books, election circulars, voters' lists, habeas corpus warrants and pleas, lie as if shot there like debris into a pit or coal into a cellar. It is a spot for an antiquarian revel that would reveal little. There, at the Borough Courts, they lie unknown. Not an inventory even of the contents is known to exist. No one living has hitherto examined the arcana. Though not pearls cast before swine, they are unheeded treasures that might be lying "where pearls lie deep." Although now carefully collected and carelessly protected, it is the old mistake of locking the stable door after the steed has been stolen. In their previous repository in the Town Hall the great box containing them was left open, or rather had no lock, and the idle and curious public dived into it in what manner they pleased, with that unhallowed carelessness always displayed when liberty is too freely obtained. Many papers and ®lb Qeeba. 33 parchments must have been long and interesting, and, no doubt, with the laudable intention of perusing, studying, or transcribing them, many were taken home and forgotten, like borrowed umbrellas. Some say they were destroyed at the CromwelUan visit to the town, but I am inclined to think that official carelessness and a reprehensible curiosity have destroyed more of them than ever the ruthless scapegoat Cromwell did. The charters have, happily, been more sacredly guarded, and are now fairly well protected in the Town Clerk's office. It is vain to regret the irretrievable, but it is impossible to suppress the useless wish that our official forefathers had been more conservative with such trusts. They may have been handed about as hieroglyphic curiosities to contemporary Pickwickian s, or as parchment works of art to connoisseurs of articles of virtu, some of them being beautifully designed, and that of Charles II. being remarkably so On it there is a very extensive heading and border of well-executed florid work, with an excellent likeness of the king on the left, and one of his queen on the right. His is a noble and serious face, full of expression, with heavy and very dark moustache. No sooner does the eye light on it than one exclaims — " 'Tis a royal Stuart's face ! " This charter is as clear, bright, and legible as ever it was, and, I understand, was once photographed. But what shall be said of the Elizabethan charter ? I have been unable to find it, and, as far as I know, the last authenticated beholder of it was Richard St. George, Norry King of Arms, in 1613. (Gregson's Fragments, p. 286.) Where is it ? Has it, too, found its way into the old curiosity shop ? As I know nothing about it, perhaps the best way to give it an honourably historical ending would be to aver that the prototype of iniquity (Cromwell) made a horse-blanket of it. There is in the Town Clerk's office what seems to be a draft copy of it on paper, but even that has mouldered to uselessness. All the other charters I have seen and examined. It seems a remarkable thing that the charter of Elizabeth should be the only one of the Wigan charters which cannot be accounted for. I can find no authenticated reason for its loss or disappearance, and at the same time I wish to give, from contemporary history, what I believe to be a good reason for its disappearance. I conclude it has neither been lost nor stolen, but wilfully surrendered by the Corporation in exchange for one from Charles II. For an explanation it is necessary to review a part of the history of that time, when an attack was made on the Corporations for reasons detailed in histories of the kingdom. In order to institute a precedent, a special attack was made on the charters of London, which succeeded, and the charters were forfeited. The Wigan charters were, in a manner, similar to those of London. Boroughs trembled for the safety of their privileges. The afterwards notorious Jeffreys was Chief Justice, and he, anxious to do anything for the king's Vol. I.— 5 34 ^tetovyi of prt0«m. pleasure, is said, in his circuits, "to have made all the charters, like the walls of Jericho, fall down before him, and to have returned laden with surrenders, the spoils of towns." Boroughs, troubled at the unhappy prospect of losing their honours, presented sycophantic addresses, beseeching special favours and exemptions. If a borough could maintain its rights to its charters by a public trial, it might retain them, but these trials were very expensive, and many boroughs, in order to avoid such expense, voluntarily gave up their old charters and received new ones in their stead. Was this not what was done with the Elizabethan charter of Wigan — the most recent in the possession of the borough 1 The conjecture is strengthened by the fact that there is in the, presumably, substituted charter the first mention of a Quo Warranto, whereby an assurance that the grounds upon which the Corporation claimed its rights and privileges should not be inquired into. The forbidding of the quo-warranto ran thus in the Wigan charter : — " We being also willing, and by these presents for us, our heirs, and successors, charging and commanding, as well the chancellor, barons of our exchequer at Westminster, and other justices of us, our heirs, and successors, as our Attorney and Solicitor-General for the time being ; and each of them and all ministers and officers of us, our heirs, and successors whatsoever for the time being, that neither they, nor any, or any one of them, obtain, prosecute, or continue or make, or cause, or any of them make, or cause to be obtained, prosecuted, or continued, any writ or summons of quo warranto, or any our writ, or writs, or process whatsoever, against the aforesaid mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses of the borough aforesaid, or any one, or any of them, for any causes, things, matters, offences, claims, and usurpations, or any of them, by them, or any of them, attempted, claimed, accustomed, had made or usurped before the making of these, our letters, patent. Being also willing that the same mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses of the borough aforesaid, or any of them, be in no wise molested, or hindered, by any one, or any the justices, sheriffs, officers, or ministers aforesaid, in or for a debt, or claim, or abuse of any other liberties, privileges, franchises, or jurisdictions within the borough aforesaid, the liberties and precincts thereof, before the day of the making these, our letters patent, or be compelled to answer to any one, or any of them." Many towns in the country were made boroughs by the barons, or lords, of the town, whilst to others the charters were granted direct by the king. These baronial charters simply granted legal claims of certain customary liberties to the inhabitants, and some of them were so insignificant as to be simply a special licence to buy and sell certain commodities within the town, that is, they were simply chartered as market-towns, whose inhabitants had some slight advantages over strangers or travelling merchants, who were never allowed to remain in the town longer than ®vi&in of tije Gbovpovation. 35 forty days for mercantile purposes, and were not allowed to trade with other strangers, but with the inhabitants only. To such towns these charters only placed protective duties and laws on local trade, for, of course, the principles of Free Trade were then considered obnoxious and unfair. But there were other charters which gave far greater Uberties and powers to the inhabitants on easy conditions. Such the royal charters generally were ; and the charter of Wigan was issued by the king to the lord of the manor, or rector, whose living was the advowson of the Banastres, of Newton. In this charter, not only were all the privileges of a market-town aUowed to the inhabitants, but they were allowed to govern themselves and their affairs and make their own bye-laws, subject to those of the realm, after the manner, in a primitive form, of municipal bodies of the present day. A certain amount of property was given to the inhabitants within the walls, which they could retain, seU, or bestow by will as ordinary heritable, but not entailed, property. If there was no will, the property descended to the next of kin, subject to a baronial duty. For this property a rent, that could never be increased, was paid at four stated periods of the year. Not only was this property bestowed on the inhabitants, called burgesses, but certain further privileges on the demesnes of the lord of the manor were granted. These burgesses were compelled to pursue their trades or callings only within their own towns, or, at furthest, within the barony. If the burgess husband, died, the relict was entitled to a living from the estate, unless she married again, in which case everything became the property of the heir. The burgesses regulated the affairs of trade, and, as jurymen, settled disputes, debts, and certain crimes before the lord of the manor, as judge. At the manor-house there were a prison for the punishment of offenders, and public, hall, or halmote, where the laws of the manor were read and pleas heard. In Appendix H 228, No. 99, of the fourth Report of Commissioners on Courts of Common Law there is a notice of the ancient Courts of Pleas for the Borough of Wigan ; a court held by prescription confirmed by various charters, having, originally, jurisdiction extending over the whole township of Wigan, in personal actions to an unlimited amount. AU men were not alike subject to the law ; what was wrong for dependants, or slaves, might be quite legal for burgesses who were freemen. There was one law for the burgess and another for the stranger ; one for the master and another for the servant, who was treated like an inferior animal. Not only had the burgess to pay- a smaU rent and perform sundry duties for the baron, but he had to grind his corn at the baron's mills — the Rector of Wigan had two on the Douglas — and bake at his oven. The punishment for breaking a law was generally a fine of a year's rent, twelvepence. The special leave of the rector had to be obtained before any of his dependants could marry, just as soldiers of the regular army have now to 36 gjtetiwij of Sttrt0«*w. obtain permission, but members of the family of a burgess required no such licence. Not only had Wigan a Guild Merchant for the good government of town's affairs and trade, but also a hanse, or confederation of merchants, for the good usage and safe passage of goods from one town, or kingdom, to another. Although Liverpool was but a small fishing village, it had received a charter thirty-nine years before Wigan, but it was only chartered as a free sea-port town, whereas Wigan was chartered as a royal borough (1246). The rector had a vice-regal power, which was sometimes very much abused, and, by way of payment for his urban duties, and compensation for property given to the burgesses, there were confirmed to him and his successors for ever, a weekly market every Monday, and an annual fair of six days' duration, viz., one on the eve, day, and morrow of the Ascension (Thursday in Rogation week) ; and the other on the eve, day, and morrow of All Saints' (November). All tolls, or duties, paid by merchants at these times belonged to him. No town was allowed to hold fairs without a special charter. They were instituted for the convenience of the burgesses, who, by that means, bought goods wholesale from travelling or foreign merchants for retail purposes. Many persons in Wigan now possessed land which their forefathers had simply obtained on lease, and consequently they were landed proprietors, although often on a very small scale. They were generally also the merchants of the town, and were always recognised as the most influential men of the burghal society. The inteUectual and moral progress of the past had been very great, and these freeholders were wise enough to see that each one, as an individual, had no power against the lords of the land, but they knew that union was strength, and so, for their individual interests and civic rights, they determined to form a fraternity, which, as a whole, vowed to support, defend, and be responsible for the actions of each of its individuals ; to stand or fall by every member of the body. Such societies had had an ephemeral existence on the continent; but a very summary method was there taken for their extinction, for every individual who- was found to be a member of such a corporation was Uable to be scourged, have his nose slit, or be banished the realm. They were not thus treated in England where such corporations were instituted for the protection of liberties, and not with a view of over-ruling established laws or opposing the monarchy. They were instituted, really, for the fulfilling of the law, so that no individually strong man might take advantage of a weak man. In Wigan, as in other important English towns, such a corporation grew out of the necessities of the town's prosperous condition. Freeholders, or persons having a special interest in the prosperity of the country, agreed to unite as members of a family who had a common interest in civic affairs. " Let us," they said, " all share the same lot; if any misdo, let all bear it." The body defended the member from violence or wrong ; appeared in court with testimony in favour of anyone falsely accused, and held itself responsible for the obedience of its members to the laws of the realm. To such guilds, or corporations, neither the lord of the manor nor the king of the country could reasonably object, for it was reaUy a moral combination of right against possible wrong and illegal might. Such was the Merchant Guild of Wigan, which became so powerful as to have a voice in the settlement of every local question. It became, indeed, a terror to evil doers, a praise and protection to all that did well ; an institution in the defence of right. At first these freeholders were agricultural men, for the town was the abode of farmers ; but as trade prospered and craftsmen became important persons in the town, they, too, were admitted into the guild. After a long trial these guilds proved themselves to be the true defenders of the law and the promoters of the prosperity of the land, and, in return for the unquestioned good they did, special privUeges were conferred upon them. What they had by their union insisted upon was granted them by special law. The Wigan freeholders, or burgesses, had entire control of the business and merchandise of the town. No one could carry on any trade without their special leave. Strangers, or foreigners, were not allowed to buy or sell in their market without paying the commission enforced by them. On the other hand, special privUeges were retained by the lord of the manor for the rights which the citizens had received. Those citizens were by Act of Parliament allowed to judge and punish certain culprits. As a manor the town had the privilege of holding a court every three weeks ; the rector was the court baron, and his freeholders were the judges and jurymen who decided all suits. Anyone damaging, injuring, or molesting a citizen was liable to a fine of £10. The rector, lord of the manor, retained the power of trying and punishing trespassers, thieves, bondmen, and villains. Such privileges were granted by royal charter to the burgesses of Wigan in 1246, through the influence of John Mansel. Everything was done to make these guilds a genuine and successful combination. The members met purposely to talk over affairs of the town, and, in order to make these meetings attractive enough, monthly guilds — or feasts, as the original word means — took place in appointed houses. If they could not afford a guild hall — and they seem not to have had one in Wigan — they met in one of the principal rooms of a tavern. There postprandial speeches were made, the social cup drunk, and civic politics discussed. The custom prevails, or rather is commemorated, to this day ; nightly meetings of local politicians have their friendly gatherings in private rooms of the ancient taverns, with their simUar histories, associations, and customs handed down by the fathers of the town. There the modern burgesses meet as a social brotherhood, drink the healths of each other, discuss civic and imperial affairs, exchange opinions about the news of the day, and thus renewing their friendship and giving each a special interest in the other they 38 gjtetjortj of gtt*i0an* part, after the ringing of the modern curfew-bell, to meet on the morrow. Slaves who had absconded from their masters in other parts of the country became free after Uving a year and a day in Wigan, and in this way the number of inhabitants was much increased, although this was a feudal custom, recognised as legal, common to aU walled towns. This is a very important era in the history of the town. The greater part of the population was composed of frankleynes — those who were considered sufficiently important to offer themselves, and be accepted, as . sureties for the good conduct of their neighbours — freeholders, and yeomen. These were burgesses of the town. Each had an important house of his own, with other smaller houses at the back, built round a quadrangular court, for his servants or labourers. Each had his smaU croft, or piece of property, with a right to certain common grounds held on certain conditions made to the lord of the manor. Each felt he had a personal and responsible right to further the prosperity of the town, and secure the general social customs, and the rights now legally granted them by charter were simply the result of common-sense principles, with which custom had long made them famiUar. They were the laws which necessity had compelled them to adopt, and which their own interests made them enforce. The fashions of trial by ordeal were beginning to become obsolete ; to carry a hot bar of iron a certain distance in the bare hand without being injured was looked upon as a doubtful method of proving one's innocency ; to lift a stone out of a pitcher of boning water without being scalded, or to swaUow a piece of bread hastily and unmasticated without being choked (in answer to a simultaneous prayer) were not so good methods of trial as those by jury, which they had recently adopted as the law of Wigan. Juries then were very different in many ways from those of the present day. The origin of the system was a good and reasonable one. The jurymen were necessarily neighbours of the accused, because they knew him best, and were most able to judge of his actions because of their knowledge of his character; moreover, they were jealous of the privileges of their community to which the accused belonged, and so they would be anxious to rid their society of him if guilty, and at the same time defend him if considered innocent, with as much zeal as if it were a personal matter. Thus morally, and by their frankpledge, they were the best judges of the case. These jurymen were the neighbours of the accused, witnesses in the trial, and judges of the case, and it was necessary that they should be unanimous in their opinion before judgment could be legally passed. Of course, this system was often abused, for even at assizes judges and jurymen were often bribed. It was found on a parliamentary inquiry in the reign of Edward I. that there were only two honest judges in England. gocal (Movevnment, 39 It is natural to suppose that many petty grievances would arise amongst the townspeople from the carelessness of herd-boys driving the cattle to, or from, pasture in the rector's grounds. Obstreperous swine, or other beasts, would often get out and destroy gardens, and so cause much vexation to the owner. An official referee was chosen by the burgesses to see that the borough laws were enacted, and amongst his other numerous duties one was to assess the amount of damage done in this way by stray, or carelessly herded, animals. He was called a burleyman, the derivation of which is variously given, as byrelawman and byelawman. The natives of England have always had the peculiar characteristic of wishing to be governed by themselves, and, at the same time, having a sovereign over them. In all the many revolutions for liberty and self-government, or against the abuse of despotic kings, it was never a national wish to be without a crowned head. Man is a free-wUl agent, but no man argues that it is therefore right to do whatever he wills. As the impulse must be kept under control by the superior powers of reason, or as all disputes in national sports even are satisfactorily referred to an umpire who is not necessarily beUeved to be infallible, although certainly impartial, so has the nation felt that it must have a supreme head, independent and impartial, whose very faUibility, publicly acknowledged and allowed, creates the necessity of inner circles of government dependent on local organisation, and necessary to the success of the complete national constitution. Saxon and Norman thoughts have run in the same political groove from the very infancy of English civilisation. Communities first slowly organised themselves, and made, by custom, their successful organisations necessities of their existence, and then wise rulers and diplomatists yielded to the necessities and granted charters which gave the established organisations legal authority and royal recognition. Thus it was that the necessities of the time and the intelligence of the inhabitants of Wigan demanded and received a local self-government. The charter granted to Wigan caused no local revolution or sudden change, but merely estabUshed legally what custom had long confirmed. The inhabitants had proved that they could govern themselves, and at the same time better support the national government, as weU as that of the locally supreme baron. The king was convinced of this, and, therefore, he granted to John de Mansel (who was, according to the not then extinct feudal custom, the individual responsible to him) a royal charter, and he in turn, the lord of the town, being convinced of the utility, necessity, and diplomacy of the case, granted his legal charter to the inhabitants, who were actually his subjects. As this was the first of similar charters given to Wigan, a translation of the original is herewith given for the perusal of the reader. The original document I have seen and examined in the Town Clerk's office. It is legibly written in Latin on one piece of parchment, slightly larger than 40 gjtetxroj of pfi0im. a page of foolscap, to which is attached the great seal— very small when compared with the great seal in future charters. According to custom the seal of wax— in this case green— hangs by a thick cord a few inches from the parchment. 30th HENRY III. (1246.) " Henry, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy, Aquaintain and Count of Angers; to aU archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, justices, sheriffs, chief ministers, and baUiffs, and his faithful subjects greeting : Know te that we have granted, and by this, our charter, confirmed for us and our heirs to our beloved and faithful, John Mansel, parson of the Church of Wigan, that his vill of Wygayn may be a borough for ever, and that the burgesses of the same borough may have a Guild Merchant, with a treasury and other liberties and free customs to that Guild belonging, and that no one, who is not of that Guild, may make any merchandise in the aforesaid borough, unless of the wUl of the same burgesses. We have also granted to the same burgesses and their heirs that they may have soke and sak, and thol and theam, and attachment within the said borough, and infangenthef and utfangenthef, and that they may be free throughout our whole land, and through all the ports of the sea, from toll, custom, passage, pontage, and stallage, and that they may make no suit of the Counties or Wappentakes concerning their tenures which they hold within the borough aforesaid. We have also granted to the same burgesses and their heirs, that whatsoever traders shaU come to the borough aforesaid with their merchandise, of whatsoever place they shall be, foreigners, or others, who shall be of our peace, or of our leave, shall come into our land, may come safely and securely to the aforesaid borough with their merchandise, and safely there may stay and safely from thence may return by doing there the right and due customs ; we do also prohibit that no one may do injury or damage, or molestation, unto the aforesaid burgesses, upon our forfeiture of £10. Wherefore we do will and firmly command for us and our heirs that the aforesaid vill of Wigan be a borough for ever, and that the aforesaid burgesses may have the aforesaid Guild Merchant, with the Hanaper and with the other liberties and free customs to that GuUd belonging, and that they may have all other liberties and free customs and quittances as is aforesaid. Witnesses hereto — Richard Earl of CornwaU, our brother, Roger le Pygot Earl of Norfolk, Peter de Saband, William de Ferrers, Ralph Fit Nichol, William de Cantilupo, John de Plesset, Paul Peyner, Robert de Mustengros, Bartholemy Peche, and others. Given by our hand at Woodstock, the 26th day of August, in the 30th year of our reign."— (Haddock's translation.) For the perusal of antiquarian and classical readers, a copy of the original charter is subjoined : — ,gitr»t ftotjrtl <&ljavtev. 41 3Dmo HENRICI III. " Henricus Dei gratia Rex Angliae Dominus Hiberniae Dux Normanniae • Aquitanniae et comes d' Andes Archiepiscopis Episcopis Abbatibus Prioribus Comitibus Baronibus Justiciariis Yicecomitibvs Praspositis Ministris et omnibus Ballivis et Fidelibus suis Salutem : Sciatis nos concessisse et hac Carta nostra confirmasse et nobis et Haeredibus nostris dilecto et fideli nostro Johanni Mansel Parsonae Ecelesiae de Wygain quod Yilla sua de Wygatn Burgus sit imperpetuum et quod Burgenses ejusdem Burgi habeant Gildam mercatoriam cum Hansa et aliis Ubertatibus et Uberis consuetudinibus ad GUdam iUam pertinentibus Et quod nullus qui non sit de Gilda ilia Mercandisam aliquam in praedicto Burgo faciat nisi de voluntate corundem Burgensium Concessimus etiam eisdem Burgensibus et eorum Haeredibus quod habeant Soke et Sak et Thol, et Theam, et Attachiamentum infra Burgum praedictum et Infangenthef et Unfangenthef, et quod quieti sint per totam Terram nostram et per omnes portus Maris de Thelonio Lestagio Passagio Pontagio et Stallagio et quod nullam Secutionem Comitatuum seu Wapentachiorum faciant de Tenuris suis quas tenent infra Burgum praedictum — Concessimus etiam eisdem Burgensibus et eorum Haeredibus quod quicunque Mercatores petierint Burgum praedictum cum Mercandisis suis de quocunque loco fuerint sive extranei sive alii qui de pace nostra fuerint vel de Licentia nostra in terram nostram venerint salvo et secure ad praedictum Burgum veniant cum Mercandisis suis et salvo ibidem morentur et salvo inde recedant faciendo inde rectas et debitas Consuetudines. — Peohibemus etiam ne quis praedictis Burgensibus injuriam vel dampnum seu molestiam faciat super forisfacturam nostram decern Librarum — Quare volumus et firmiter praecipimus pro nobis et Haeredibus nostris quod praedicta YiUa de Wygayn liber Burgus sit imperpetuum et quod praedicti Burgenses habeant praedictam Gildam Mercatoriam cum Hansa et cum aliis Libertatibus et Uberis Consuetudinibus ad Gildam Ulam pertinentibus et quod habeant omnes alias libertates et liberas Consuetudines et quietantias sicut praedictum est— Hujus Testibus Ricardo Comite Cornubense fratre nostro, Rogero le Pygot Comite Norfolcense, Petro de Saband, Willhelmo de Ferrariis, Radulpho Fit Nichol, WiUhelmo de Cantilupo, Johanne de Plesset, Paulino Peyser, Roberto de Musjiengros, Bartholomaeo Peche et alus — Data per Manum nostram apud Wodestok vicesimo sexto die Augusti Anno Regni nostri tricesimo." By this charter the town was governed under the strictest principles of the feudal system, everyone being subject in some manner to render service to his superior. The burgesses, or guilds, were one body which pledged itself for the good conduct of its individual members. They formed really a weU disposed body of unionists determined to stand, or fall, together in defence of right against might. There were many boroughs in the times of the Saxons in which the borough properties were given to the highest bidding burgesses. The Normans, however, appointed a baiUff, or Vol. I.— 6 42 gtetanj of pr{0(jw. borough-reeve, of their own, fixed their own rents, and exacted them with great tyranny. They soon discovered that, after deducting expenses, they got far less by exaction than the burgesses were willing to pay on the old farming system which was again resorted to. Privileges were then granted to them, and some purchased by them, and they were allowed to choose their own mayor. If a burgess did not pay his rent, the door was carried away from his house, and he was not aUowed to restore it until he had paid. This was rather a cheaper method of evicting a bad tenant than the recently popular one of taking off the roof. The richest class of burgesses had windows made of small pieces of horn, Lancashire being specially famed for the excellence of its horns. The windows of the poorer people were simply covered by a linen cloth to keep out the wet and wind. Whether Wigan had a guild of homers it is now impossible to ascertain, but there is no reason to think it had not. Bottlemakers and homers afterwards became a united guUd, for bottles and drinking cups were alike made of horn. There were only the Market Place and four small streets in the town, Hallgate, WaUgate, Millgate, and Standishgate. In most of the old towns the chief street was called High Street, whilst in the most ancient towns the Danish termination gate, meaning a street, is preserved. The fact that the names of the principal streets in Wigan have this termination would not be a proof in itself that the town had once been fortified by a wall, but would simply imply that the streets or roads led to, or had direct connection with, some place indicated by the previous part of the name. Standishgate was the road to Standish, one of the oldest neighbouring townships, which has increased very little because it has no staple trade or peculiar commercial facility. Hallgate and Bishopgate led to the rectory, which was invariably called the Hall in ancient times. Millgate led to the rector's mills, for he had two water-mills. WaUgate was the road to Warrington, and as Warringtongate would have been of unwarrantable length, doubtless it received its shorter appeUation simply because it led beyond the wall, or, as suggested by one writer, because it skirted the wall for some distance. Most of the other names, like the streets themselves, are modern and connected with local worthies, or have the origin common to streets in all towns. One of the necessary parts of the sacred edifice was a belfry. Bells had been in use at least since the time of Moses, and were used for civil and mUitary purposes by the Greeks and Romans. For both purposes was the bell used in a parish church. In all western churches it was used from the end of the fourth century for caUing the people to prayer. No doubt one was placed in the belfry at Wigan by the Romans and used for military purposes, as it was certainly used long afterwards by the Normans as a signal to put out fires as well as for other civil ®lb ®tM»S»e*. 43 and religious purposes. The curfew beU is stiU toUed at Wigan, although not at the original time, but at half-past ten. It was believed that the ringing of bells allayed turbulent spirits, calmed the troubled sea, and put to flight the clouds, thunder, and lightning. The old staple trades often forsake towns, and indeed countries. Tradesmen sometimes find there is a greater demand for their services, or greater facilities for their prosperity, in other towns or countries, to which they naturally go. Some trades, again, altogether die out because there is no demand for the craft ; the substantial architecture of the Saxons and Normans is especially a mystery to modern people. The staple trades of Birmingham, Sheffield, and other towns are now as well known in other countries as in the towns that were alone celebrated for them in olden times. The most important craft that has altogether left Wigan is that of bell-casting. In the history of the 17th and 18th centuries notice will be taken of the celebrated bell-makers in Wigan, for whose services there was a great demand. Wigan bells are still to be found in different parts of England and Wales. The foundries must have been large ones, although it is not known in what part of the town they were. BeUs were first cast in England about 940 a.d. by crafty monks, who were the carvers, gilders, and designers of their age — they alone being skilled workmen. There is no authentic information about the re-building of the Parish Church, but antiquarian relics often record a more truthful history than written books. According to those relics, religious edifices have been erected on the same site from the time that Wigan was a Roman settlement Whether the eminence of the hill was sacred to the Druids we have neither relics nor records to say, but part of a Roman altar found there is preserved to this day. After the Saxon edifice there was certainly built a Norman Church, as several remains of the earliest Norman architecture have been found. When a chancel was built to the church in 1821 the masons made use of the old stones, which happily in all cases they did not re-carve. One of these waste stones was a mutilated monument of a priest of the Norman period, and this, just as it was, without thinking of the historical chapter they were recording, the workmen used for a part of the foundation. A Norman arch and the bases and cylindrical piers have also been found, and thus the very stones prove the antiquity of the sacred edifice, just as the rings on the trunk of a tree teU its age. The town was the rector's property, but after it was incorporated he bestowed, by charter in 1249, special privUeges on the burgesses or members of the guUd and to their heirs for ever, and the granted lands from thence became freehold property. Then every burgess was given five roods of land, in return for which certain services were to be rendered by them and their heirs to the rector and his heirs. Not only was 44 gtet