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THE VESTRY-BOOK
OF

THE

TWENTY-FOUR SWORNE MEN
OF GOOSNARGH.

READ BEFORE TIHE IIISTORIC SOCIETY

-01,,
LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIIIE,

31R NOVENMBER, 1898.

BY THE

REV.

E. D.

BANISTER,

B.A.,

L.I

LIVERPOOL:
PRINTED

BY

THOMAS

BRAKELL

r899.

LIMITED.

THE

VESTRY-BOOK

OF THE TWENTY-FOUR
OF

TVRAVELLERS

SWORNE MEN

GOOSNARGH.

from Liverpool to the Lake
District by the London and North-Western
Railway, will probably remember something of the
appearance of the land lying on both sides of the
line which runs from Preston to Lancaster. They
may have noticed a large tract of country, which,
following a line of gradual descent from the spurs
of the Pennine Range, finds its limit on the western
horizon. The greater part of this tract lies in the
hundred of Amounderness, a division of the county
of Lancaster not less rich than its fellows in
historical associations and in matter meet for the
antiquary.
In the large area to which I allude, the land
east of the line from Preston to Lancaster is
On the west
generally known as " The Fells."
side of the line, confining ourselves mainly to the
portion between Brock station and Scorton station,
the land slopes from a general elevation of Ioo feet
above sea level, until it reaches an extensive plain
A

2

The Twenty-four Sworne IMei of Goosnargh.

of rich alluvial soil, known to antiquaries as the
" Mosse of Pylin," or Pilling Moss. Westward
again from this tract, for the most part between the
River Wyre and the sea, lies the district generally
known as " The Fylde."

Not much is known to the outer world of these
" highlands and lowlands." The scenery from the
hills has yet to be described by some such powerful
hand as, say, that of Mrs. Humphry Ward-a
scenery which, as you look westward, shows a
coast-line from the farthest stretch of the Lleyn
Promontory in Carnarvonshire to the westernmost
spur of Black Combe in Cumberland; and, as you
look eastward, is bounded by the outlines of the
ancient forests of Bleasdale and Bowland, and
stretches away to the south-east among the hills
which lie beyond Clitheroe, Whalley, and Pendle
Hill,
In one corner, so to speak, of the hundred of
Amounderness lies the ancient township of Goosnargh-with-Newsham. Climbing up into the Fells
eastward, and almost touching the fringe of the
Fylde to the west, it starts from the foot of Parlick
Pike and runs south and south-west for more than
eight miles, varying in breadth from three to five
miles. Its area is returned in the Preston Union
Census Returns of 1891 as 7891 acres.

Its highest

part is Beacon Fell, 874 feet above sea level. From
this elevation the township shows itself abounding
in undulating reaches of pasture and meadow, ever
growing fuller in herbage and richer in colour as
the gradients of the land trend downward to the
south and south-west.
This township of Goosnargh does not abound in
mansions and lordly dwellings. It does not possess
Parlick Pike, in the township of Chipping (1414 feet above sea level),
and Beacon Fell, in the township of Goosnargh (874 feet above sea level),
afford such views.

The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh.

3

a resident squire.
It is owned by a few large
landed proprietors and a considerable number of
yeomen. The bulk of its inhabitants consists of
tenant farmers and labourers. For the antiquary
its attraction lies in the number and character of
its sixteenth and seventeenth century residences,
houses which, in days gone by, were occupied by
some of the principal families of Amounderness.
These buildings now are used only as farmhouses.
They are mainly characterised by their long and
low strong stone-mullioned windows, by their thick
and substantially built walls, their stout and often

rough-hewn rafters, black with age, but as strong
as they were in the days when they were first laid
down. In many of these houses the door of the
principal entrance is of oak, thickly studded with
heavy-headed nails, and clasped top and bottom by
iron bands simply ornamented, to which have been
welded powerful hinges.

These houses were mostly built, or enlarged
upon their original foundations, about the beginning
of the sixteenth century.
Roses, property became

After the Wars of the
more secure, and the

inducement to a landowner to reside upon his own
estate, to promote the cultivation of his lands, and

to exercise a paternal government overhis dependants, became more potent.2
2 A short reference to a few of these houses may be interesting. I. White
Lee. This house stands on high ground, 405 feet above sea level, commanding
an extensive view of the country. It formerly belonged to the family of the
Keighleys. Until about seventy years ago there stood close to the house a
small chapel. 2. Ashes, in Goosnargh. This was at one time the seat of the
Threlfalls. IIere is to be seen a remarkable hiding-place, so situated as to be
warmed by the kitchen fireplace, the back of which formed one of its walls,
and communicating with an upper room, which bears signs of having been
used as a place of worship. 3. Blake Hall. The seat of the ancient family
of Midghall. There is still to be seen the outline of the old open fireplace,
so characteristic of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the old carved
oak dining table, with the square indent for the salt, bearing the initials A M.
and the date 1630o. 4. Chingle HIall. The seat of the Singletons, who threw
in their lot with Cardinal Allen in 1558. The house stands much as it stood
three hundredyears ago. A bridge of brick takes the place of the old drawbridge. The moat is easily traceable, only about a quarter of it having been

4

The Tzventy-four Szworne illMen of Goosnlargh.

Goosnargh in Domesday" Book is written " Gu" sanarghe."
There are many conjectures as to
the meaning of the word. Some derive it from
" goosen"-a plural of goose, and " argh"-a field.
Monsr. Gradwell suggests the words "gussand"
and " orgh." On the authority of the Rev. J. C.
Atkinson, who has studied the Cleveland and East

Yorkshire dialects, " gussand " means in Danish a
divine image or idol, and " orgh " is an old Norse
word meaning an altar of stone on high ground.
Goosnargh, thus derived, may mean a god's
altar. 3
Three

churches are mentioned in Domesday

Book as existing in the hundred of Amoundernessfilled up. This house, like many others built in the sixteenth century,
possesses a strongly built outer vestibule.
I have only alluded to four such houses. It may be interesting to some to
peruse a list of houses, the properties of well-known Amounderness families
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Some idea is given by this list of
the importance of Goosnargh in the days of the Tudors an(i Stuarts.
GOOSNA RGIl-WITH-NEWSHAM
Name of House.

Middleton IHail ... ..
Bulsnaue
.........
White Lee
...
......
White Hill ......
...
Ashes (Goosnargh) ... ...
Blake Hail ....
... . ....
Higher Barker
....
...
Lower Barker...
... .......
Inglewhite Lodge
...
......
Whinny Ciouglh
...
...
Latus Hall ..
.. ...
Church House
...
....
Whittingham IHaii ........
Chingle Hflail ...
....
Dun Cow Rib...
....
...
.
Crombleholme Fold ...
......
...
...
Got Field ..
Newsham Hall
...
..

AND

IHITTINGIAM.
Owners.

... Singleton, afterwards Rigby.
... Catterall, afterwards Fishwick.
... Keighley.
... Hesketh.
... Threlfall.
...
lidghall.
... Ialsall, Sidgreaves, Patten.
Warren.
Sidgreaves.
... Bamber.
L..
atewise or Latus.
.. Helme.
... Whittingham.
... Singleton.
I..Iloghton.
Crombleholme.
Warings.
... Newsam.

3 How is the word Goosnargh pronounced? The following story may
help us to a conclusion :-"Do you pronounce the name of this station
" ' Grims,rgh '? " was the question asked of a porter of that station not many

months ago. " No, sir," was the prompt answer: ' accent on the first syi"
" lable." "Then I suppose that it is ' Grimsargh,'" said the enquirer, at the
same time doing full justice to the "gh."
"No, sir," said the porter:
" final consonant silent." The porter's canon holds good with regard to the
pronunciation of " Goosnargh."

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The Twenty-four Szeworne Mell

of Goosnarlgh.

5

Preston, St. Michael's, and Kirkham. The patronage of Kirkham, after passing through several
hands, was granted by royal charter in 1281 to the
Abbot of Vale Royal; and in the ledger of Vale
Royal we find an entry, date 1330, referring to a
paymIent due from the " Chaplain of Goosner " to
the Abbot of Vale Royal, of an ox, value ten
shillings. The ledger speaks, four years later, of
the parish of Kirkham together with the chapel of
" Gosnargh." 4
Goosnargh then was a part of the ecclesiastical
parish of Kirkham, and so continued for five centuries, until, in 1846, the parish of Goosnargh was
separated from the parish of Kirkham, and the
patronage transferred to the Dean and Canons of
Christ Church, Oxford.
A few words may here be said about Goosnargh
Church. This church, mainly a fifteenth-century
building, consists of a nave, north and south aisles,
chancel, vestry, and tower. The varieties of architecture show different periods of restoration or
enlargement, the oldest portion being the tower
and the north aisle. The windows in the aisles
are of two lights each, those in the chancel of
three lights.
The east window has five lights.
There are no clerestory windows, but the roof is
lighted on the south side by two, and on the north
side by three dormer lights, in oak, of beautiful
design. The roof is supported by principals and
purlins-rough-hewn, as though they had been
dressed by the foot axe of a 'prentice hand.
Separated from the nave by an oak screen, bearing date 1622, is the Middleton Chapel, within
which lies a tombstone, rich in ornamental raised
carving. This is supposed to mark the resting
place of the Singletons, who founded a chantry in
4 See revised edition of B3aines' Hisor of Lancashire, by IHarland and

Herford.

6

The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh.

Goosnargh Church, and who were at one time the
owners of Middleton Hall.
Among the treasures of Goosnargh Church,
carefully preserved in an iron safe, is a large, wellbound folio book in manuscript. It contains an
account of the meetings and deliberations of the
members of an ancient select vestry, who are
officially designated as " The Twenty-four Sworn
" Men of Goosnargh." The book is in good condition. The writing is for the most part clear, and
can be easily read by those who are accustomed to
decipher the hand-writing of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. The paper is strong (handmade), the ink exceedingly good, challenging fearlessly the ink of modern times.
From this book I propose to give some extracts,
telling of matters which interested Goosnargh
people mainly in the seventeenth century.
First, however, a word about the constitution
of the " Twenty-four" whose deliberations are
recorded in this book.
" Select vestries" (says Cripps, in his book, A
Practical Treatise on the Law relating to the Church
and Clergy) " seem to have grown from the practice
" of choosing a certain number of persons, yearly,
" to manage the concerns of the parish for that
" year, which, by degrees, came to be a fixed
" method ; and the parishioners lost, not only their
" right to concur in the public management, but also,
" in most places, if not in all, the right of electing
" the managers; and this custom of government
" of parishes by a select number has been held to
" be a good custom, and the churchwardens ac" counting to them has been held a good account."
In the thirteenth century it was an established
custom to appoint twelve men in each hundred for
the purpose of making or controlling assessments.
These were called " Sworne Men." It appears that

The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh.

7

the assistants Who were appointed to help them
were also sworn upon oath. In the Goosnargh
Vestry Book, the first deliberations and pronouncements recorded relate to questions of taxation and
assessments.
Colonel Fishwick, in his History of Goosnargh,
writes thus: " In some of our ancient cities the
" chosen of the inhabitants were called ' sworne
"'4men,' as we find from 'the old usages of the
"'city of Winchestre of the fourteenth century,
"' that of the heades of the city should be foure
"' and twenty y-sworne in stede of (i.e., to repre"'sent) the most gode men and the wyseste of
"' the town for to treuleche help and counseyle the
" ' meyr for to save and susteyne the fraunchise.' "
In Amounderness these select vestries were not
uncommon. There were at Kirkham thirty sworne
men; these ceased to exist as a body thirty-five
years ago. Garstang had twenty-four men; Lancaster had twenty-four men; and Preston its
The Preston Vestry
" twenty-four gentlemen."
ceased in 1770. It appears that the only one of
these vestries surviving is that of Goosnargh, which
is periodically summoned to meet for appointment
of certain of its menbers to act as governors of
Goosnargh School, under the provisions of a
scheme drawn up by the Charity Commissioners.
The duties of the Twenty-four were at first, in all
probability, merely secular. 5 The council, out of
which the Twenty-four were formed, was a gathering
of men prepared to act on the defensive against
some injustice, mostly against the inequalities and
iniquities of taxation; but as the very body which
administered matters relating to the valuation of
5 In connection with the subject of early village councils, the following
works will be found of great interest:-7le Villaee Communityi, by C. L.
Gomme; Seebohm's Englisit Village Community; Sir Henry Maine's .Early
Law and Custom.,

8

The Tzenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh.

property and assessments, was practically identical

with the body which met to consider ways and
means for the maintenance of the fabric of the
church and its services, it was found that one body
and one meeting would do the work for both
objects. It is easy also to surmise how the twentyfour, though originally elected by the open vote
of all the householders, would so arrange that
vacancies occurring in the body should be filled up
by the rest of the twenty-four, according to their
own discretion.
Considering the high social status of the bulk of
the twenty-four thus elected, (or, to use a modern
phrase, "co-opted") in comparison with that of
the remainder 'of the parishioners, opposition to
this select body would be hopeless. In the absence
of any strictly defined code of duties in matters
parochial, a resolution of the twenty-four would
become paramount in all matters, ecclesiastical or
civil.
I have just alluded to the high social status of
the Twenty-four. In the Goosnargh Vestry Book
we have the following entry :
A Catalogue of p'sons which this eight day of Aprill in the
yeare of our lord god one thousand six hundred thirtie and fower
and in the tenth yeare of the reigne of King Charles over
England Scotland ffrance and Ireland, are of the fower and
twenty sworne men of the parish of Gosenargh in the County of
lancre viz.

Then follows the list, which contains the names
of one esquire, six gentlemen, twelve yeomen, and
five husbandmen.
Let us think of the composition of this body.
I take it that in the days named, an esquire was
one out of a class from which were chosen sheriffs
of the county, deputy-lieutenants, and members of
the grand juiry.

The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh. .9
The esquire might own a parish or two.
Tennyson complete the picture for us-

Let

A great broad-shouldered genial Englishman,
A lord of fat prize oxen and of sheep,
A quarter-sessions chairman, abler n one;
Fair-haired, and redder than a windy morn.
we have the six gentlemen. 6 As compared

Next
with the esquire, the gentleman was less well
endowed in lands, tenements, and heteditaments.
He was, however, the possessor of more than one
estate, and lived upon the rent of his properties.
The yeoman, as a rule, was simply the owner of
one estate, which he himself cultivated, 'being thus
In Cumberentitled to be styled "independent."
land and the West Riding of Yorkshire, and in
other parts of the North of England, such a man
is called a " statesman" : i.e., a man possessing an
estate of his own.
The husbandman corresponds to the tenant
farmer of our own times.
The catalogue referred to is dated 1634, but in
1639, and again in 1640, the vestry is composed
only of esquires gentlemen, and yeomen
We see now the importance of the twenty-four
men in their day, and how hopeless would be the
resistance on the part of the rest of the parishioners
to their monitions and resolutions. We.are therefore not surprised to learn that they took upon
themselves to appoint churchwardens, sexton,
clerk, and, if some authorities are to be believed,
they endeavoured to put in a word about, the
appointment of the minister.
6 The Rev. Robert Lamb, in his " Free Thoughts by a Manchester Man,"
p. 85 (Essays contributedto Fraser's Magazine), tells the story of a ploughboy
who described a genitleman as one who "waars a watch an ligs by hissel."
There is also the tiine-honoured definition of a gentlemani as "a maan who
"'keeps a gig." I have often heard the story told that in the early part of
this century there was only one man in the township of Goosnargh who was
possessed of a "conveyance oir springs." This man was popularly known as
the "King of Goosnargh."

B

10

The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh.

The special duty of the Twenty-four was, as we
have seen, primarily; to act as a check upon unjust
taxation, and to redress grievances arising,-. from
inequalities. But as time went on, and business
secular became mixed with business ecclesiastical,
the duties of the Twenty-four became multifarious.
Upon them eventually devolved the care of the
church and churchyard, belfry and vestry, the
provision of bread and wine for the Holy Communion, the purchase of a surplice, the painting of
a bier, the oiling of hinges, and the winding of
the clock.
Before them came appeals for help
from distressed parishioners, nay, appeals from
distant parishes, even from London, and further
still, from the prisons of Barbary and the dungeons
of Algiers. Sometimes they are extravagant; after
a while a sudden fit of economy seizes them, in
which mood they are careful to avoid involving
themselves in any perpetual obligation.
It would have been most interesting to be present
at the debates, in the seventeenth century, of the
Twenty-four, conducted, as they would be, in
language partly composed of the formal business
expressions of the time, and partly of comments
in the vernacular. A Hogarth could have painted
for us the one Solomon of the body keeping silence
whilst the discussion was at its height, knowing
that the meeting must call upon him to act as
judge and give the verdict. We can suppose, as
we read some of the deliberations, that a resolution
which has been arrived at regarding the time when
-bells should be rung on Sunday, might be followed
by an equally vigorous resolve that a price should
be set upon the head of every sparrow and mole in
7
the parish. Vestries of all kinds in the old d'ays
7 In a note on page 52 of Fishwick's History of Goosnargh, it-is stated
that in 1638 there was paid at Kirkham, for the heads of sparrows and
magpies, the sum of £Io 12s. 4d.

The Twenlty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh. It
seemed to wage intermittent war against sparrows,
magpies, and moles.
Again, some person who can behave himself is
appointed by the Twenty-four as sexton. Someone
else is appointed to whip the dogs out of church
and churchyard, " so long as he demean himself
" dutiful." From such entries you and I, reading
between the lines, may not unnaturally conclude
that, if any kind of stick will do to throw at a dog,
it is not necessarily any kind of man that will do
to throw that stick.'

Each man of the Twenty-four was bound by a
solemn oath to discharge conscientiously the duties
of his office. In the vestry book is the following:
Here ensueth the forme of the oath wh of ancyent tymes hath
beene used to ble ministered unto everie p'son elected into the
number companie or Societie of the fower & twentie sworne men
of the parish of Gosenargh in the Countie of Lanc. at the tyme
of his eleccon into that Societie vidzt
You shall well & truely observe & keepe all such ancyent
lawfull & Lawdable Customes as heretofore-in this place have
been observed & kept so farre as they shall agree wth the Lawes
of this realme & the good & benifitt of this Church & p'sh or
Chappellerie. according to yr power & best understanding & :Yr
owne Counsell & yr felowes you shall keepe so help you god.

The last list of "sworn

men" is for the year

1740, and since that date the oath does not appear-

to have been administered.
It is not until 1751 that we find the name of the
Vicar of Goosnargh among the Twenty-four. The
following entry is taken from the minutes of a
meeting of the Twenty-four, dated April 9, 1751: 8 The following is.an imaginary conversation in the Lancashire dialect in
the seventeenth century :

fersoncE-JoANAS

Dramatis

and MATTHA.

JoANAS-" Easta, Mattha, theer's a seet to' mony mowdies agait."
AMATTHA-" Yar.reet; ther' as thick as bleiberries. How mon we ger rid on 'em?"
JOANAS-" Sithabod, Mattha, theer's brass as is spent i' woss things than. catching
mowdies. tasta."

MATTHA-" Fowkes as pais raites owt to see summat for ther brass."

JOijANAS-" Wots go8ads for if we co8iant pati a chap to catch mowdies?"
- '
Twenty-four '11be meetin' belive. We mum tell 'em to look to it."
MATTHA

12 The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh.
IT WAS ORDERED

of the
1

2

24

That the. Revnd Mr Chr Swainson be
.one

for Whittingham in room of Tho Slater deceased.

d That the sd Mr Swainson as 24 man and

~
\rs
Whittingham for M Grimbaldstones
-Whittingham.

j

r Richard

be Churchwardens for

Whether the illusion, common :nowadays, that a
-clergyman is not a good business man, obtained
in the seventeenth century, or whether he had not
a sufficient stake in,the country to entitle him to
be considered as one of the body politic, we know
not. At any rate, to judge from the Goosnargh
Vestry Book, there came a time, about the middle
of the eighteenth century, when the minister was
admitted to the council of the Twenty-four. We
learn, however, that the minister and the Twentyfour were not always in harmony. 9
The first .principal resolution recorded in the
book of the "Twenty-four" ' refers to a grievance,
a part of which I here transcribe.
GOOSENARGHE.

Whereas the inhabitantes of the Towneshipp of Goosenarghe
doe all of them generallie fynd themselves agreeved with
taxacns and leyes which hitherto'sithence the enclosures of
their commons have not beene made by any certaine Rule but
arbitrary

at

the

taxor's

discretions,

The

better

sort

of

the

Inhabitants complayneinge that they are oftentymes occac'ined
to their propper expenses losse of tyme and neglect of their owne
occacons and extraordinarie payments in Regard of the nonsolvency of the worser sort, complayneinge That they are
unequallie taxed, although the taxors used the most indifference
9 In 1638 the " thirty sworne men of Kirkham " were at variance with the
vicar, who took the high hand, and locked them out of the church. [The
quarrel appears to have arisen on the question of the continuance of some
ancient- custom.]

The matter was referred to the bishop, who decided as

follows :--"That the Corporation or Company of the Thirty Men. not
" having any Warranty from -the King, was nothing in law; but that if the
p"
arishi r township did delegate the Dower to those thirty men as to church
" matters, then their acts relating thereto was as eftectual and binding as if
" they had the King's sanction." The bishop accordingly issued an order for
the parishioners to meet on the Saturday but one following, which they did,
:and gave their unanimous vote for the continuance of the ancient custom. I
am indebted to Fishwick's History of Goosnarg/ (p. 52) for the above
interesting extract from the Kirkham registers.

The Twenty-four Swocrne Men of Goosnargh. 13
to their understandings And whereas alsoe the taxors have beene
sometymes constrayned upon precepte directed to the Constables
to assesse greater somes than were conteyned in the same p'ce!pte
In Regard many of the Inhabitants were negligent backward and
obstinate in their paymts and to the end the people might bee
satisfyed accordinge to the tenor thereof by the.payments of the
more forward sort of the Inhabitants which hath beene oftentymes
an apparant greevance to them that deserved it not and -hath
othertymes occacbned the Constables and Collectors at such
tymes as they could gather more than would satisfy the saide
p'cepte to detayne the surplusage in their hands to thr.owne uses
without accompt thereof makinge to the generall hurt of the
Inhabitants &cc. &cc.

You notice how curiously worded the resolution
is, and in what a roundabout way the grievance is
stated. It is evident that some paid the tax and
some did not pay, some paid more, some less than
they ought to have paid. The grievance so stated
ends with a summons to all landed proprietors to
meet on a certain day " at the church of Goose" nargh, ' and agree upon a certain " ley " (i.e., a
scheme of taxation), ,ihich may" guide lead square
" and governe all taxacons leyes gaudes and assess m
" hereafter to bee made throughout the Towneshipp
" of Goosenargh except the ould fifteenths to bee
" hereafter granted by act of Parliaments which is
" to bee paid accordinge to the ancient custome."
The date of the publication of this notice is
Sunday, the Ioth of July, 1625.
The next entry tells us the result of the
summoning of the landed proprietors, which was
that " a certaine taxacon ley or goude of seaven
"nobles was made " upon all proprietors or occupiers of land in the township "distributurelie
"proporconably and equally accordinge to the
" quantity and qualitie of every man's lands." A
certain day was fixed for hearing complaints, and a
committee of six was formed for the consideration
of them. It was composed of one man from each
of the tithings into which the township was then

I4 The Tweizty-four Szwornze Men of Goosnargh.
divided. ' o Finally there is given in full a complete
list of persons taxable, and the lands in respect of
which the assessment is made, and the sum due
from the owner or occupier."
About ten years later we have a record in the
Vestry-Book relating to Goosnargh Church, as
follows :
Here ensueth a p'ticuler note made the I 9 th day of July Anno
dom 1635 in the Church of Gosenargh in a publique assemblie
of divers of the fower and twentie of Gosenargh then and there
holden declaring what formes pewes and seates in that Church
are now made repayred or amended in Anno dom millesimo
sexcentesimo tricesimo quarto, and by whom or at whose charge
the same weare so made or repayred w weare as followeth
vidzt Imprinm In the North Ile Inprs Middleton -Chappell conteyning all the uppermost arch from the eastend walle of that Ile
unto the midle of the uppermost pillar was repayred by Alexander
Rigby Esqre &cc. &cc.

" This " p'ticuler note" then proceeds to give
the precise position of every seat, and the name

of the owner liable for its repair.
In all matters, ecclesiastical or civil. the same
precision of statement is noticeable. The entries
are made in clear handwriting, and, in some cases,
with almost unnecessary minuteness of detail.
The Vestry-Book was intended to be the parochial

" final court of appeal."
In 1636 the Twenty-four, to prevent misunder-

standing with the clerk, enter the following:
Memorand m 'That the ancient custome of this p'she hath
beene that in regard the Claike beeinge both Clarke & Sexton
hath formly at all times in the yea'e hath swept & made clean
the whole Church savinge at the, Rushbearing only and it is
therefore ordered that the Clarke now & hereafter shall doe &
p'forme the same according to the same custome, and at the
The following is a list of the tithings :--I.
Church Tyth. 2. Beesley
Tyth. 3 Longley Tyth. 4. Aspinhurst Tyth. 5. Threlfall Tyth.- 6. Kidsnape Tyth.
n The list is given in full in Fishwick's Hislory of Goosnargh, chap. v,
page 59.
To

The Twenty-four Sworne Alen of Goosnargh. 15
Rushbearinge the Churchwardens shall yearly doe or p'cure the
same to be done upon the p'she charges.

The churchwardens were obliged to show their
accounts to the Twenty-four every Easter. The
following is a memorandum from the Easter Vestry
of 1657 :
Mmd' n that the xxxith of Mlarch 1657 the ould Churchwardens vizt Laurence Dicconson, John Beesley, l'ho Slater &
John Walmisley have shewd tleir accomlpts & it appeared that
for the use of the Church they have disbursed three pounds sixteene shillings & seaven penc & for three foxe heades,.three
shillings, & for takeinge out the order of D)ismission of the suit
which stood heretofore in the Chancery betweane the inhabitants
of Kirkham and us of Goosnargh, five shillings all wh is
Vh
3S I
24 ,, ,, d of w said sumes the Churchwardens of Goosnargh
is in arreare unto- the Churchwardeins of Whitingham eleaven
shillings & fower penc.

We know nothing of briefs nowadays by such
title. But in the sixteenth century, and until the
early part of this century, they were common.'"
In them was set forth the necessities of towns or
parishes or individuals, consequent upon misfortunes and accidents; and an appeal was made for
help and sympathy from Christian people. These
briefs were read out in chr rch, and collections
wvere made for the sufferers.
In the Goosnargh Vestry Book there is an entry
as follows:
In the moneth of May I661
Collected by the Churchwiardens within the p'sh of Goosnargh
by a briefe to them directed, for the use of the Inhabitants of
the towne of Ilminster in the County of Somerset, the sume of
£Loo ,,16s ,, ood
Collected likewyse by the said Churchwardens for the use of
the Inhabitants in the p'sh of St Bartholomew Exchange within
the Citie the sume of £oo ,, 6s,, ood
.z A Brief" is thus defined in Bailey's Dictionary-"An order issuing
A
":out Chancery, or some other Court; also any Process of the King, in
of
"writing, under Seal, requiring anything to be done, especially Letters
" P'atent granted for Collecting of charitable Benevolence to poor Sufferers
" by Fire or other Casualties:"

16 The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh.
Collected alsoe for the use of Thomas Wry of Horncastle in
d
the County Lincolne the sume of f£oo,, 5 ,, oo

In 1662 we have the following entry:
It is agreede that Henry Threlfall of Goosenargh shall sweepe
the Church make the Alleys eaven make all graves Looke to the
Be)l-Roopes hacks and spades and receave the monyes due for
Buriall in the Church before the grave bee made and have such
allowance as hath beene formerly accustomed.

In 1,668 the following entry appears:
Dec. 13, 1668. Collected in the Chappell of Goosenargh the
Sume of Seaven shillings and two pence ffor the poore Sufferers
by ffyre within the Citie of London..
Jan. io, 1668. Collected in the Chappell of Goosenargh the
sume of three shillings seaven pence for the Inhabitants of
Leaver Hill in ye County of Suffocke who had their houses
consumed by fyre.

In 1669 the following:
July the 2 5 th 1669. After the publishinge of a briefe collected
for the poore captives within the Turke's dominions in the
Chappell of Goosnargh the sume of three shillings sixpence by
the Churchwardens for this presente yeare.

This brief would be for the purpose of ransoming
the crews of our merchant vessels which had been
taken by pirates in the Mediterranean.
In 1670 we have the following:
Aprill the 5 th 1670. This day it is agreede that Christopher
Salisburie shall take care of the Bells and Roopes and provide
Liccor for the Bells. And give accompts to the 24 men at their
meeteings and be paide for his paynes untill further Order.

The following entry shows the value which the
Twenty-four put upon the safe keeping of parish
papers:
August ye 5, 1675. It is ordered that all deeds and writings
that doe relate or concerne the Church and Schoole together
with the Church Books, shall be kept in the Chest with three
lockes upon it standinge in ye Vestery. And that the keyes shall
bee henceforward kept, one by ye preachinge-Schoolmaster for:
the time beeinge. And one by one of ye Inhabitantes of Goosnargh. And one by one of the Inhabitantes of Whittingham.

The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh. 17
It appears from several entries that the mother
church of Kirkham claimed a contribution from
the parish of' Goosnargh towards the expenses of
maintaining the fabric of Kirkham Church and its
services. The amount claimed was ten shillings,
and there was a running controversy for many
years between the inhabitants of Goosnargh and
the minister of Kirkham, respecting the liability of
the former to payment. In connection with this
is the following entry:
April ye 16, 1677.-Att a meetinge of ye Four and Twenty
Alexander Rigby Esq, Edward Rigby Sergeant-at-Bar Thomas
Whittingham Esq William Helme gen t John Whittingham gent
Robt Bamber gent Nicholas White gent John Parker I lenry
Waringe John Waringe James Johnson Robt Barton John Mercer
John Harrison Thomas Parkinson, it is agreed as followeth yt
Whereas Mr Sergeant Rigby did produce a Lettr from Mr Clegg
Minister at Kirkham intimating unto him yt ye thirty men of
Kirkham had refered ye Controversy betweene them and ye
Inhabitants of Goosnergh Concerninge )e arears of ye ten shillings Claymed to bee pd for ye Repaire of ye Church of Kirkham
unto ye determination of ):e
said Mr Sergeant Rigby, it is therfore
now agreed yt)e endinge of ye sd difference shall bee left wholy
tosye d Mr Rigby and what hee ye sd Mr Rigby shall doe in that
behalfe shall bee confirmed by ye said Inhabitantes of Goosnergh.
It is agreed yt at all times hereafter when any one or more of ye
four and twenty of this Chapeldri of Goosnergh shall happen to
dy that one or more person or p'sons who shall have an estate of
lands within ye Township of goosnergh or Whittingham and shall
bee thought most deservinge and fittinge for ye Imploymt shall
by ye major part of ye four & twenty at theire generall Meetinge
in Easter weeke then next- followinge be Elected and Chosen in
ye place & stead of such as shall bee dead wthout any distinction
of beinge Chosen for eyther goosnergh or Whittingham being yt
each of the sd four & twenty are equally concerned for both ye
said Townshipps.It is ordered that the Ringers of the Parochiall Chappell of
Goosnargh shall upon every Lord's Day ring one bell :t 7 of the
Clocke in the afore noone two bells at 8 of the Clocke and three.
bells at nine oft
the Clocke as also in the afternoone one bell at
12 of the Clocke 2 bells at one of the Clocke and 3 bells at 2 of,
the Clocke Unlesse the Minister of y" Sd Chappell give other
direction.

18 The Twenty-four Sworile Men of Goosnargh..
The following is an interesting entry:
April e 18 1682.-It
is ordered that Will m Wareing do looke
to the Clocke to sweepe the Church and keepe it cleane to ring
the Bell at 8 of ye Clocke to wash ye surplices to take care of ye
hacks and spades and all ye utensills of the Church and for his
so doeing hee shall have the benefitts of burialls in the Church.

In 1684 there was a very strong " Twenty-four."
It consisted of the following :-Alexander Rigby,
Esq., Mr. Sergeant Rigby, Mr. Justice Warren,
Mr. Thomas Rigby, Edward Rigby, Esq., Thomas
Whittingham, Esq.
After these come seven
" gentlemen " of honourable names, the eleven
remaining being entered with Christian and surname, followed in each case by the word " sworne."
In that particular vestry the power would probably
lie in the hands of the first six on the list.
The Alexander Rigby here named would probably be the son of the famous Colonel Rigby
(himself once a member of the Twenty-four), who
besieged Lathom House in I643-4.13
Sergeant Rigby, Thomas and Edward Rigby,
would probably be directly related to the Squire of
Middleton.
There is reason for believing that the Mr. Justice
Warren here named was an ancestor of the late
Lord de Tabley, whose fore-elders exercised manorial rights at Inglewhite, a hamlet in the township
of Goosnargh. These manorial rights were sold
by a Lord de Tabley about forty years ago. They
are now no longer in force.'"
'3 The famous answer of Lady Derby,-when summoned by Colonel Rigby
to surrender Lathom House, was as follows :-" Tell that insolent rebell. hee
"shall neither have p'sons, goods, nor house, when our strength, and p'vision
"is spent, we shall find a fire more mercifull than Rigby and then if the
" providence of God p'vent it not, my goods and house shall burne in his
"sight: myself, children and souldiers rather than fall into his hands will
"seale our religion and loyalty in the same flame."-See Chetham Socikey's
Publications.
'4 The right of taking toil at the cattle fairs at Inglewhite, in the parish of
Goosnargh, formed part of the privileges of the lord of the manor. The

The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh. 19
It is probable that no parish council at the
present day could exhibit on its roll the names of
so many men of high social standing and personal
influence as were the first six found on the roll of
the Twenty-four Men of Goosnargh in 1684.
There is a curious entry in " Aprill ye 6 th" 697"
At a meeting of the flour and twenty, present 'lho Rigby Esq,
Tho. Whittingham Esq., Mr John Whittingham &cc.
'Memorandum that the tenth day of Aprill 1696 there was
delivd unto our presenlt Minister WVm Bushell one table-Clothe
two napkins, two fflaggons two bowlls and one pewder di-h by
John Newsham one of the Churchwardens that year.

On " Aprill ye

22, 1701,"

we find the following:

Item WHEIEAS severall extravagant expences have been
found not only in the accounts of the Churchwardens for the
Year last past, but also in some former Years in entertaining of
Strang Minrs when they preached here it is Ordered that no
Churchwarden for the future shall expend above 2 S upon the
account above sd More not to be allowd

As in this case, so in 1703, a severe fit of
economy seizes the vestry. The Twenty-four are
determined to know precisely how matters stand
from a financial point of view. Under date '"March
(" 3 0 th 1703," we have the following:
y
It was ordered . .
. That all Accounts shali be stated
io dayes before any Generall Meeting and shewed to any of the
24 requiring them before the sd Generall Meeting.
That the Churchwardens for the Year last past shall not be
o
charged wth the Sume of 0 s 4 .d assessed upon Tho Rigby EIsq
towards the repair of the Church untill a Certaine dispute ariseing upon his repaireing the roof over his own Quire be stated
betwixt the sd Tho Rigby & this Chappelry.
For the Regulating of Expences, at all p)ubliq(e Meetings for
this Chappelry (wch oftentimes heretofore have proved very
extravagant) It is Ordered that no Officer dischargeing such
right was often disputed, and at length the question of its validity was tried
in a court of law. I understand that the judgment of the court went against
the owner of the toll, because the lord of the manor had not kept the part of
the covenant which required him to provide at Lower Barker a bull and a
boar.

2:o The Twent3'-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh.
Expenses shall have more allowed him than 4 d for every individuall person necessaryly appearing at every such Meeting wthin
the Chappelry and 6d if out of the Chappelry.

Under date April Io, 1705, we have the following:
Robert Harrison be Sexton so long as he demeans himself
duetifull and careful in his place and service which service shall
be to Ring Eight of the Clocke from the 2 9 th of Sept: untill the
oyle
2 5 th of March yearly except if it be otherwayes Ordered, to
the Bells at his own Charge, to sweep the Church and whip the
dogs every Lorct's day, to wash the Surplus and table Linnon,
flagmns and bdwles, to Mow the weeds in the Churchyard and to
fence the Churchyard, and that he shall have for his wages all
the advantage of the buryalls in the Church without account
makeing.

There is no doubt that occasionally the minister
of the parish would find the situation awkward
when he had to deal with obstinate officials of the
church over whom he had no control, and who
were responsible not to him, but to the Twenty-four.
We find that in 1738 the minister had to give a
written admission of the vestry's power in the
The
matter of the appointment of a sexton.
admission runs thus :
I hereby acknowledge the right of nominating of a Sexton for
the parochial Chapel to belong to the select Vestry of Twentyfour, wch right I will not hereafter contrcvert, and assure them
that whatever opposition I've hitherto made to it was owing to
misinformation And not occasioned by any designe formed by
me wrongfully to usurp or invade it. But I hope the Gentlemen
who constitute that Vestry will not ellect a man into that Office
who makes it his study to affrontme dayly. But permitt George
Turner to Exercise it at least one year longer in wch time both
they and I may be better satisfyed of Edwd Edmundson's
Behaviour both in Generall and to me in particular.
W"' Whitehead
Ministr
the Iith, 1738.
June

From the middle of ' the eighteenth century to
the present time the entries become, of course, less

The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh. z21
interesting to an antiquary. It is true that these
entries throw some light on contemporary questions,
and show to us the gradual transition of power
from the hands of the few into the hands of the
many; but there is not the charm about them that
attracts us in the earlier years. The matter
becomes monotonous. It is the old story of outlay
considered, expenditure incurred, rates laid, and
obligations discharged.
I think that I have given a sufficient quantity
and variety of entries to show the kind of work in
which the twenty-four men were engaged. We
have noticed that, though elected originally upon
' home rule " principles, they eventualiy formed an
oligarchy; though never at any time, as far as I
can learn, was this oligarchy in conflict with public
opinion. It must have happened more than once
in the seventeenth century that a minority of the
vestry'held sway, but we may take it for granted,
that, after the middle of the eighteenth century,
power was more equally distributed amongst the
members. From that time the strength of the
Twenty-four virtually lay in the various gradations
of rank amongst the members. Men of different
classes were brought into common converse, geniality of intercourse was facilitated, which, like oil
on machinery, obviated friction and conduced to
general harmony of work.
When the records of the " Sworne Men" are
edited by some man specially competent for the
task, the text will occupy no small space. Justice,
however, cannot be done to such a work unless
there

accompany the text a full commentary,

throwing a search-light upon the entries, which
ought, where possible, to be taken decade by
decade. There must be a comparison of such
entries with contemporary records of a similar
nature, showing the various degrees of importance

22

The Twenty-four Sworne Men of Goosnargh.

attaching to the pronouncements and resolutions of
the Twenty-four.
It may strike you as strange, but it is a fact,
that there is not once found amongst the deliberations of the Twenty-four any reference to the burning political questions which agitated the country
during the time of the great Civil War.
No man could be more uncompromising than
Alexander Rigby, as the records of the Parliament
of 1640 bear witness. Rigby is present at almost
every meeting of the Twenty-four. He is always
the first to sign his name, or rather to have it
entered. Yet not a single resolution is there at
any meeting at which he is present, which shows
in the slightest degree political or puritanical bias.
It is possible that if the ideal editor of the
records of the Twenty-four could disclose something about the politics of the Rigbys, Threlfalls,
Whittinghams, Warings, Lancasters, Parkinsons,
Helmes, Crosses, Townlevys, Heskeths, Beesleys,
we might find that though differences, for the
parish's sake, might be sunk in the vestry, yet,
outside the walls matters might be different. We
may assume that not the least interesting of the
commentator's notes would be those showing the
number and the names of the Royalists and Parliamentarians in the parish of Goosnargh at the time
of the Civil War.
That Goosnargh knew something of the war
may be learnt from three simple entries in the
register of burials; for in the month of August,
1644, it is recorded as follows:Buried was a souldier found slaine the first daie.
Buried was ffrancis Rudson souldier the XVI daie.
Buried was Roger Barton the XXIV daie, a souldier.

In the Chetham Society's publications we find,
in the " Discourse of the Warr" in Lancashire,
the troops of both sides occupying at this time the

The Tiventy-four Szorne Men of' Goosnargh. .23
neighbourhood of Preston and a considerable part
of the Fylde. Men were obliged to take sides. To
which side did the majority of the Twventy-four
lean ?
The work of editing such a book as the records
of the " Sworne Men " would involve most careful
research into all kinds of documents, in order to
ensure its thoroughness. How certain families
take the lead at certain epochs, how they fall
behind, how they die away, how their names are
lost, and to whom their estates have passed : such
considerations force themselves upon the student
of the records.
Who can give us anything like an idea of the
havoc

that

was wrought

amongst

Lancashire

families in the thirty years 1715 to 1745 ? In 1715
came the troubles consequent upon the first Scotch
Rebellion; in 1720 not a few were ruined by the
disasters which ensued upon the failure of Law's
Mississippi Scheme; in the same year the crash
which followed the bursting of the South Sea
Bubble told heavily upon the North of England;
in 1745 the consummation of the disasters connected with the failure of the Jacobite movement
brought many of the leading houses in Amounderness to serious trouble, and in not a few cases
to poverty and ruin. As the eighteenth century
draws to its end, what trace is there of the great
Amounderness families who hunted with Heskeths,
Tyldesleys, and Threlfalls ? They have most of
them passed into obscurity. Such questions no
man can avoid commenting upon who would
seriously undertake to edit the records of the
Twenty-four men of Goosnargh.
Let me now conclude by saying that a quarter
of a century's experience of life lived amongst the
descendants of the Goosnargh yeomen of old,

,24 The Twenty-four Sworne Men-of Goosnargh.

convinces me that the men of ,the present day,
who form our Twenty-four, have inherited the bulk
of the sterling qualities of their ancestors-independence of spirit, a high value of justice, and a
practical mind. They do things in a prosaic Vway;
there is not the romance of poetry in the associations of their every-day life, and their names are
not known to the world; but they are content, if, in
the discharge of their duties, it can be said of them
that in accuracy, straightforwardness, and fair
dealing, they do not fall one whit behind the
" Twenty-four Sworne Men" who ruiled the fortunes
of Goosnargh in the olden time.

'5

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