Ightenhill Manor notes

[Stanley]

Ightenhill Manor notes
People of town were all to the manor born
From the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, first published Thursday 6th Jan 2005.
Bygone Burnley, with JACK NADIN
BURNLEY in medieval times consisted of just 50 or 60 families, and might have remained as such but for the intervention of the twelfth Lord of Clitheroe, Henry de Lacy, 1258-1311.
It was Henry de Lacy who obtained the grant for a market and fair at Burnley in 1294. Henry de Lacy looked after Burnley, which included Ightenhill, in the King's name.
His banner was of yellow silk with a purple lion rampart, and the de Lacy lion can still be seen as a supporter of the Borough Coat of Arms.
The large areas of woodland, moors, marshlands and lowlands around east Lancashire were obviously difficult to manage from the castle.
As a consequence, around the 12th century, the Honor of Clitheroe was divided up into seven manors, four of which had their own manor house. The manors were: Ightenhill, Colne, Accrington, Tottington, Chatburn, Worston and Pendleton.
It is the Manor of Ightenhill, with which we are concerned, which was sub-divided into vils consisting of Burnley, Habergham, Padiham, Briercliffe with Extwistle, Little Marsden and Cliviger and Worsthorne.
The Manor House at Ightenhill was built in the 12th or 13th Century. The "Park" at Ightenhill consisted of a number of outlying farms or enclosures tenanted, but still attached to the Manor House.
The boundaries between Ightenhill and its neighbouring manors of Colne and Accrington were marked by stones, especially those of a peculiar shape and ditches and dykes. What of Ightenhill Manor House itself?
The site today is marked by a noticeable mound to the left and rear of 'Manor House' more correctly Smith's Cottages or the Hill Farm.
The place is reached by a footpath on the left of this cottage, which then bears around further to the left. The pathway passes besides the housing estate on the left and open fields on the right.
Through the young trees on the right is a stile immediately over which is a standing stone, or gatepost and the beginnings of the footpath that skirts the site of the ancient Ightenhill manor house.
The site for the manor was chosen well, from here we have extensive views of Pendle Hill, and Hambledon Hill to the left and Barden and beyond to the right. Below meanders the River Calder, and Pendle Hall can be seen on the opposite bank.
Pendle Hall originates from 1519, when William Hancock erected the structure, since rebuilt. The farm was the home of Andrew Crook during 1641 and 1660 who was a clothier.
Above the doorway of the old hall was a carved escutcheon with a lion rampant, the Arms of the De Lacys.
It was speculated that this carving was taken from the old Ightenhill manor-house when it fell into ruin. The manor house appears to have been surrounded by outer walls, of which fortunately some still survive. The main building at the Manor House was structurally well built, having carved door jambs and window mullions, the inside walls being plastered and daubed. However, it was never intended as a stronghold in the sense that Clitheroe Castle was, but simply a place of retreat from the marauding bands of Border raiders.
It has been stated that stones from the original building were used in the construction of many of the field walls, but open cast mining has removed much evidence of this.
During the rebellion of Earl Thomas, a great part of the stock at Ightenhill and the forests of Blackburnshire were driven away to Skipton.
"As a consequence there were no mares here in 1324". This disturbance at Ightenhill is recorded, when the jury reported "That Nicholas Maulleverer then constable of Skipton Castle, with many others from Craven and Airedale, did take from the Equitium or Haras (the horse breeding establishment) of Ightenhill and the Instaurators (chief cow keepers) of Pendle and Trawden various animals, and did waste the King's wine at Ightenhill to his loss, as they understand, of £232. 6d".
Following the raid by the Skipton raiders, or possibly because of the visit by King Edward II, a number of improvements were undertaken to the manor house in 1323. This included "Felling oak trees, cutting and dressing timber for posts and 'wevre' under the Kings chamber, bakehouse and other outbuildings cost £44 Repair of stable and barns cost £72 8d. and wages for Robert the Mason for making a new chimney cost £5. 14. 4d. Further repairs were carried out in 1440, when "The roof boards, floors, doors, steps and windows were all renewed. For carrying the water to cool the lime, William Ingham was paid 1s. 4d.
Locks were mended, and a new one purchased, most of the workmen earned 6d. per day".
The Manor House at Ightenhill played host to Royalty, and Edward II spent a number of days at the manor during October 1323 dealing with pleas and other matters that had arisen from the rebellion of Thomas, the Earl of Lancaster, the year before. According to tradition, the Manor-house was abandoned by the De Lacy's, Earls of Lincoln, in consequence of the last male heir being killed by a fall from a window there.
By 1522, the manor house at Ightenhill, although standing, was in a ruinous condition. In 1524, the Crown granted a lease to Sir John Towneley for the park at a rent of £30 together with the mills of Burnley and Clitheroe.
Sir John Towneley wished to know the state of the Ightenhill manor house, and on July 16 1522, 12 copyholders there made the report that "At the day of making this inquest the great hall and timbers of the manor-house at Ightenhill are in ruins and fallen to the ground, a great part carried away and not to be found there.
"The great chamber at the western end of the hall is in a like state; the kitchen, butler's house, and pantry destroyed and no part to be found, nor are any timbers or slate stones now left.
"The oven house and the great barn are in a like state. The long chamber at the western end of the hall has fallen down, and no part of it remains. Only the park-keeper's house remains standing, with timbers and slate stone, but the doors and windows have been taken away, and it is like to fall for lack of repair: the chapel there and the stable all remain in a like state. John Towneley has not been found guilty of the removal or destruction of any timber or stone of the said house."
Ightenhill Park continued to be held by the Towneleys until around 1580, when Richard Shuttleworth, of Gawthorpe Hall, was granted a lease of land therein.
The park keeper at Ightenhill Park, was Richard the Skinner, who received 4d per day as well as 10s. for a robe. In 1327 he was succeeded by John de Hemingburgh who was followed by Richard de Norton, one of the king's archers in 1333.
Before the year 1400, John the Parker held the office of parker (the origin of this common surname) at Ightenhill, and in 1416 was succeeded by his son, also named John, and who was called the younger parker.
The manor house also served as the manorial law courts where disputes were settled and wrong doers punished. These courts appear to have been held at Ightenhill manor until the reign of Henry VIII when the court house at Higham village was adopted. According to tradition, criminals tried by John O'Gaunt at Ightenhill were executed at Higham.
The Higham village occupied an important position during the feudal age, and a handsome building named the court house used to exist and bore the arms of John O'Gaunt on its western elevation.
Sadly this historic building has been demolished.
IGHTENHILL PARK
Hightenhull, 1238; Ightenhill, 1242; Hucnhull, 1258; Ichtenhill, 1296, 1305.
Ightenhill Park lies on the south and south-west sides of the River Calder, and has an area of 760 acres. It was formerly accounted extra-parochial, as being in the Castle parish of Clitheroe. The hamlet anciently known as Ightenhill lay to the south of the park, within Habergham Eaves, near the present Whittlefield and Gannow. The ground rises from about 270 ft. above sea level at the Calder bank to 530 ft. in the centre, where the ancient manor-house of the Lacys stood. Here Edward II spent several days at the beginning of October 1323, being engaged in hearing pleas and dealing with various public matters which had arisen in consequence of the rebellion of Thomas Earl of Lancaster in the year before. (fn. 1)
The road from Burnley to Padiham skirts the southern border of the township, and at its eastern corner a branch road goes north through it, passing Old Holme and ascending the hill from which the name is derived; leaving the manor site to the west and then descending it continues as a bridle road to a ford over the Calder leading to Hunterholme in Higham. Cornfield is in the north-west corner by the river. The population in 1901 numbered 888 persons, mostly within Burnley.
There are a colliery and a stone quarry in the park and several disused coal pits, the township abounding in the mineral. The land is chiefly used for pasturage, for there are 744½ acres in permanent grass and 24 acres arable, but no woods or plantations. (fn. 2)
A small strip on the south, which had become urban, was included in the county borough of Burnley in 1889, and in 1894 this became part of the new township of Burnley, so reducing the old area. On the other hand part of Habergham Eaves was added, and after these changes the township was named Ightenhill simply. (fn. 3) This new township has an area of 770 acres, including 6 of inland water, and in 1901 a population of 111.
Manor
The first occurrence of the name IGHTENHILL appears to be in a charter by John de Lacy to Monk Bretton Priory, dated at this place in 1238. (fn. 4) Four years later the lands, &c., were extended at the yearly value of £4 9s. 11d., in which was included the farm of lands held by the tenants of Habergham. There were four free tenants, holding among them 45 customary acres. (fn. 5) Ightenhill is named in the grant of free warren to Edmund de Lacy in 1251. (fn. 6) The farm yielded 53s. 4d. in 1296, probably indicating that there were 160 customary acres demised to tenants at will and freeholders. The parker received 1½d. a day. There were 60 acres of meadow cut for hay, and 16 acres of oats had been reaped, doubtless in the 'Cornfield.' (fn. 7) The particulars of the 1305 account show no material change. (fn. 8) After the death of Henry de Lacy in 1311 it was recorded that the capital messuage in Ightenhill was of no value beyond reprises; the park, with moss and herbage, was valued at 40s.; and in demesne there were 8 acres of land worth 2s. 8d. and an acre of meadow worth 1s. The halmote, with a perquisite called Thistletake, was worth 40s. Tenants at will had 52½ acres, paying 50s. 5d. Thus the value was £6 14s. 1d. in all. (fn. 9)
During the rebellion of Earl Thomas a great part of the stock at Ightenhill and in the forests of Blackburnshire was driven away to Skipton. (fn. 10) In consequence there were no mares here in 1324, and but a trifling head of rounceys and colts. In Ightenhill outside the park rent and farm that year yielded 59s. 6d., and 6½ acres improved from the waste were demised at the customary farm of 4d. the acre. In the park 68 beasts were agisted at 8d. a head. No corn was reaped, but 46 acres of meadow were mown for hay, and repairs had been executed in the king's chamber and other buildings at the manorhouse in preparation for the royal visit of October 1323. Richard the Skinner, park keeper, received 4d. a day wages as well as 10s. for a robe. (fn. 11) He was in 1327 succeeded by John de Hemingburgh, (fn. 12) who was followed by Richard de Norton, one of the king's archers, in 1333. (fn. 13) There are a number of references to unlawful hunting in Ightenhill in the time of Edward III in the Patent Rolls. (fn. 14)
Accounts of the stock have been preserved, (fn. 15) and in 1344 Roger de Normanvill was made keeper of the king's stud beyond Trent and of the herbage of Ightenhill Park. (fn. 16) In 1348 he was, in conjunction with John de Radcliffe and John de Altham, commissioned to inquire into offences alleged against Richard de Norton in agisting forty animals in the park to his own profit and keeping three mares with the king's stallions there. (fn. 17) In 1380 the keeper of Pendle Chase was ordered to inclose the park with a ditch and quickwood hedge in the best manner possible. (fn. 18) In and before 1400 John the Parker held the office of parker of Ightenhill and was in 1416 succeeded by his son John, who is called the younger parker in 1423. (fn. 19)
Roger Flore, chief steward, demised the farm of the herbage of the park in 1418 to Oliver de Stansfield and John the Parker of Ightenhill for a term of ten years at a rental of £20 6s. 8d. a year; it had previously been let at £20. (fn. 20) The kitchen, granary and other buildings of the manor-house were in 1426 thoroughly repaired at a cost of £13 3s. 6d. under the superintendence of James Banastre. (fn. 21) Thomas Lord Stanley held the park at farm in 1459 at the rent of £20 6s. 8d., John Pilkington in 1464, and Hugh Gartside in 1474. In 1495 Sir Thomas Walton was tenant. (fn. 22) The manor courts appear to have been held at Ightenhill till the time of Henry VIII, when Higham was adopted.
The park was not granted as a copyhold tenement by the Commissioners of 1507, but the herbage was in that year demised to Robert Rishton for a term of twenty-one years, together with the Burnley watermill. (fn. 23) Rishton in 1518–19 surrendered his lease to Sir John Towneley, to whom in 1524 the Crown granted a lease of the park in fee farm at a rent of £30, together with the mills of Burnley and Clitheroe. (fn. 24) At Sir John's instance a view of the state of the manor-house was on 16 July 1522 made by twelve copyholders, their report being enrolled on the halmote roll as follows (fn. 25) :—
At the day of taking this inquest the great hall and the timber of the manor-house of Ightenhill are in ruins and fallen to the ground, a great part carried away and not to be found there. The great chamber at the western end of the hall is in like state; the kitchen, butler's house, and pantry are destroyed and no part to be found, nor are any timbers or slate-stones now left. The oven-house and great barn are in like state. The long chamber at the western end of the hall has fallen down and no part of it remains. Only the park-keeper's house remains standing, with timber and slate-stones; but the doors and windows have been taken away, and it is like to fall for lack of repair. The chapel there and the stable also remain in like state. John Towneley has not been found guilty of the removal or destruction of any timber or stone of the said houses.
Sir John Towneley in 1536 derived a clear rental of £11 12s. 4d. from the park, including seventyeight boon mallards and thirty-nine boon days' 'shearing' and thirteen days' mowing, commuted for 23s. 10d. The tenants were the vicar of Rochdale (Gilbert Haydock), £3; Thomas Folds, £2 8s. 11d.; William Shore, £2 14s. 6d.; William Hancock (Cornfield), (fn. 26) £5 11s.; the widow of Richard Stuttard, (fn. 27) £3 3s. 4d.; Edmund Rishton, £1 8s.; Henry Harger, £1 8s.; George Halstead, £2 1s. 11d.; James Holt, £1 5s. 6d.; John Ingham, £6 11s. 10d.; Richard Bentham, £2 1s. 4d.; Richard Boothman, £1 7s. 1d.; James Pollard, £2 15s. 7d.; John Spenser, £3 6s. 6d.; and Richard Clayton, 5s. The average rent was little more than 1s. for the statute acre. (fn. 28) Sir John Towneley in 1532 obtained from the Crown another lease for eighty years. (fn. 29)
The circumstances of the transfer of the lease to the Shuttleworths of Gawthorpe are not known, but in 1593 Sir Richard Shuttleworth granted a lease of lands in the park, in which were recited and confirmed certain conditions granted in a former lease by John Towneley. The cause of the transfer was probably connected with the recusancy of the former lessee. (fn. 30) In 1597 a lease in remainder of the park and two mills was granted to Sir Richard for a term of fortyone years at the rent of £35 17s. 8d. a year; 100 marks were paid for obtaining it. (fn. 31) The Park and Cornfield were granted out again in 1628. (fn. 32) General Monk in 1664 granted a new lease of the park to Richard Shuttleworth; it contained a covenant for the maintenance and repair of the manor-house. (fn. 33) The whole was afterwards acquired by the Shuttleworths in fee simple, and is still held with Gawthorpe; but the site of the manor-house was excepted, this, as representing the manor, being part of the honor of Clitheroe. (fn. 34)
One part of the story is not clear. Charles I in 1625 granted his manors of Ightenhill, Colne, Pendleton, Worston and Chatburn, parcel of the honor of Clitheroe, for 1,000 years to Edward Allen and another, (fn. 35) who apparently transferred their interest to others, for in 1655 Thomas Foster was lord of the manor of Ightenhill. (fn. 36) Such grants must have been surrendered at the Restoration, for in 1661 Ightenhill, Colne, Accrington and other manors were included in the grant to the Duke of Albemarle. (fn. 37)
The site of Ightenhill Manor House is about a quarter of a mile to the east of Gawthorpe in a meadow on the brow of a hill, from which a good view is obtained of the whole of Pendle Forest. No part of the walls is standing, but in 1894 the foundations of the keep could easily be traced. (fn. 38) The old draw-well had then been only recently covered up.
Whitacre Ford below Ightenhill Park is mentioned in 1334 as the place where Richard son of Richard Hicheson and others had captured and imprisoned Gilbert de la Legh, robbing him and putting him to ransom at £100. (fn. 39)
In Ightenhill Park in 1666 there was no house with more than three hearths liable to the tax, except Richard Shuttleworth's, which had seven; the total number was thirty-seven.
A manor-house like Ightenhill would no doubt from the first have a chapel for the lord and his tenants, and in 1361 the oratory there is mentioned (fn. 40) ; but the report above quoted indicates that in 1522 the chapel had shared in the decay of the dwelling, and was left without door or windows. The chapel is named in 1536 as subordinate to the Castle parish, but no revenue seems to have belonged to it. (fn. 41) Since then there has been no place of worship in the township.
MEDIEVAL BURNLEY


The earliest known document mentioning Burnley is a charter of 1122, by which Hugh de la Val granted the church of St. Peter to the monks of Pontefract Priory. The name Burnley or "Brunley" as sometimes written means "the field by the Brun" or alter-natively "the brown field". The town began as a small farming community that had mature up around a church, in a clearing in the woodland that covered much. of the district in the Middle Ages. The inhabi-tants lived in wood huts scraping a living from crops grown in the town field. They would also grow a few vegetables in their gardens and keep cattle on common land. Close by were several other hamlets, named Westgate, Coal Clough, Fulledge, Burnley Wood and Healey. Together they made up the vill of Burnley, which at this time was part of the Honour of Clitheroe. Following the Norman Conquest, William I granted Clitheroe to Roger of Poitou, and later this passed into the hands of the de Lacy family. The badge of the de Lacys a purple lion, forms part of the coat of arms, even today of the Borough of Burnley. By the 13th century, the Honour of Clitheroe had been divided up into five manors. The vill of Burnley was in the Manor of Ightenhill. This part of the de Lacy estate was controlled from Ightenhill Manor House, which was situated not far from the present Ightenhill Park Lane. The remains of this ancient manor house can still be traced. In the year 1290, a corn-mill was built where all the inhabitants had to have their corn ground near Keighley Green close to the present day town centre . Four years later, in 1294, Henry de Lacy obtained a charter from Edward I granting the right to have a weekly market on Tuesday in their manor of Bruneley .and a fair every year lasting through three days, that is on the eve, day and morrow of the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The tradition continues to this day. A market cross was erected near the church, named St Peters, the Parish Church of Burnley. It is possible that this was the so called "Paulinus Cross", which stands in the grounds of the Old Grammar School and which is almost certainly not an early Saxon cross as was once thought. Lastly, in 1296, a fulling-mill, where woollen cloth was finished, was built on the banks of the Brun not far from the church, This suggests that the making of cloth was already becoming quite important in the area. Before proceeding with the study of the long history of Burnley's growth and development, it is perhaps advisable to note the landmarks in the town's progress during the first eight-and-a-half centuries of its existence. Founded about the year 800, Burnley had by 1300 shown some indications of its future importance. A weekly market and yearly fair had been established; a fulling mill had been erected; and industries other than farming had been introduced. During the period 1300-1650, growth was more rapid for there was a considerable increase in population with a corresponding expansion of the village groups and the building of numerous cottages and farmhouses in the neighbouring countryside. By 1650, the land had been freed from the control of the lord of the manor, enclosure of the commons had taken place, and ground that even in 1620 had been rough or boggy moorland had been transformed into tillage, well-limed and manured, with new farmsteads testifying to the rising prosperity of the farmers: in addition, the manufacture of textiles had increased substantially and coalmining had provided a new source of wealth. Important social changes had also taken place, for the great religious and political controversies of the 16th and 17th centuries had not passed over Burnley without leaving their mark. Among local families party feeling often ran high, producing strife and bitterness. Zeal and devotion for one cause or the other developed individual strength of character. and inculcated a sense of responsibility. This spirit of self-reliance had been fostered also by the growth of a certain measure of local self-government, which, though limited by the ever-widening authority of the JPs and other county officers, was a source of pride to the townsmen of Burnley. Still greater changes were to come after 1650. The increase of population and the expansion of trade continued with even greater acceleration and the hitherto separate groups of houses at the Top o' th' Town and Westgate merged into one. However, it was not until the Industrial Revolution at the very end of the 18th century that the caused an almost meteoric rise in the size and importance of the town. The 19th century saw the last stages in the develop-ment of Burnley from a remote and inaccessible mediaeval hamlet to a modern and commercial centre.

Extracted from Burnley (a short history) by Brian Hall, and The History of Burnley Part III, by Walter Bennett.
From page 10 of Parkers topic on OG
The Honour of Clitheroe as part of the Duchy of Lancaster possessed six manors :
* Ightenhill Manor [now Gawthorpe Hall and Park]. A manor house was built here in the 1100's-1200's which today exists only as a mound to the rear of Hill Farm [Manor House or Smith's Cottages]. In 1200 Geoffrey Towneley married a daughter of Roger 'Helle' De Laci, Geoffrey was granted land at Burnley by Roger. Later the Towneley family of nearby Towneley Hall held Ightenhill Park lands until about 1580 when Richard Shuttleworth was granted a lease here. In 1290 Ightenhill had a corn mill constructed and by 1294 Henry De Laci had been granted, by his great personal friend, Edward I, a charter for a weekly Tuesday market and a three day annual fair both of which continue today. By 1296 a fulling mill, using local fuller's earth had been established on the banks of the river Brun, this saw the beginning of cloth making in Lancashire. Henry De Laci's two sons died prematurely, one is reported to have fallen down the main well of Denbigh Castle and the second son to have fallen either from the parapet of Pontefract Castle or from a window at Ightenhill manor house. Henri De Laci's only surviving child and heiress, Alice De Laci married Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster in 1294. Thomas gained Ightenhill manor upon the death of Henri De Laci 12th Lord of Clitheroe in 1311. But by 1322 Thomas had been executed for his open rebellion against Edward II. In October 1323 Edward II visited the manor and spent a number of days here where he busied himself with hearing pleas after the rebellion of Thomas of Lancaster. In 1333 Richard De Norton, one of King Edward III's archers was the keeper of Ightenhill Park. Ightenhill Manor was bounded by Colne and Accrington manors whose limits were marked with unusually shaped stone boundary markers, ditches and dykes.
* Accrington
* Colne
* Pendleton
* Tottington
* Chatburn
* Worston

Ightenhill was perhaps the most pre-eminent manor containing eight vills :
Padiham
Briercliffe
Worsthorne - granted to Oliver De Stansfield by Henry De Laci for his services rendered as constsable of Pontefract Castle. Henry De Laci looked after Ightenhill in King Edward's name.
Burnley [Bruneley]
Extwistle
Haberingham
Little Marsden.
Stanley reply: Somewhere, buried in the lost archives at Pendle Heritage is some work done by Doctor Edward Furgul on Ightenhill.  Ed was my main man when we were researching Ightenhill in 1982/84 and I remember him mentioning someone falling out of a window at either Pontefract Castle or Ightenhill Manor.  On the whole I think we decided that Pontefract was the favourite as we could find no evidence to suggest that Ightenhill had more than one storey.