# The History of the Church and Manor of Wigan/Richard Smyth

​Richard Smyth, the next rector, paid his first-fruits on 11th February, 5 Edw. VI., 1551. The parsonage, tithes, and other revenues were then in the seizin of those who held as sub-tenants under Kyghley's lease, the parsonage being at this time in the occupation of Sir Thomas Langton as sub-lessee of Ketchyn, and the tithes of Billinge in the hands of William Gerrard and John Winstanley. The rector, however, had a right of re-entry in the event of the covenanted rent being more than 40 days in arrear, and Smyth took advantage of Sir Thomas Langton's default to enter into possession of his mansion on 4th May, 1551. Whether he retained it during the time of his incumbency, or whether, as is probable, he came to terms with Sir Thomas and allowed him to hold it for the remainder of the lease, is not clear. I should, however, suppose him to have been a non-resident rector from the fact that in the following year his curate, Ralph Scott, priest, (and not Smyth himself) in conjunction with the churchwardens, is party to the Indenture with the King's commissioners on behalf of Wigan church for delivery of the church goods.
From a memorandum in the Diocesan Register, recording the presentation of his successor, it appears that within a few months after Smyth's institution, namely on 28th May, 1551, Sir Thomas Langton again sold the next presentation to the Earl of Derby and others.
​The pecuniary difficulties of the Government of Edward VI. at this time led it to further acts of spoliation of church property. In the year 1552 commissions were issued ordering perfect inventories to be made of all manner of goods, plate, jewels, and ornaments belonging to any churches, chapels, fraternities, or guilds, together with the names of persons who had been known to have acquired any of the property since the date of former inventories, with a view to their appropriation by the crown. The commissioners appointed for the hundred of West Derby were the Earl of Derby, Sir Thomas Gerard, knight, and Thomas Boteler, Esq.; who visited the church of Wigan with its chapels of ease in October of that year, and when they had formally taken possession of all the church goods, they handed a portion of them back to the minister and churchwardens to be kept on the King's behalf, by virtue of the following indenture:
"Wigan churche cū Holland Chapel & Billynge. This indenture made the iiijth dai of October in the sixt yere of the Reigne of Ou$^r$ Sou'aigne lord Edward the sixt by the grace of God Kinge of England Fraunce and Ireland defendo$^r$ of the faith and of the churche of England & Ireland in erthe the supreme hedde [1552] Betwene the right honorable Edward Erle of Derby of the honorable order of the garter Knight Thomas Gerrarde Knight & Thomas Boteler esquier comissioners to ou$^r$ Sou'aigne lord the Kyng upon the behalf of his highnes of the one partie and Ser Rauf Scotte prieste Nycholas Lawe & Nyc' Penyngton churche wardons of the parishe churche of Wigan in the hundreth of Westederby in the Countie of Lanc' of the other partie Witnesithe that wher[as] the said comyssioners have delyv'it at the tyme of sealynge & delyv'ie hereof to the said churche wardons & to the said S$^r$ Rauf fawre bells warof xij$^{li}$ as thei alledge is yet unpaid one chalice vij coapes j of grene silke ij of redde silke ij of whit twille & ij of yelowe silke x vestementes of suche like silke & colo$^r$ iiij tynacles thereof ij of ​redde silke & ij of grene silke Itm at Holland Chapel ij belles a chalice & j olde vestement Itm at Pillynge Chapel j littil belle;—belongynge to the said churche & chapels — saulfely to be kept to thuse of ou$^r$ Sou'aigne lord the Kyng. The said churche wardons as well as the said Sir Rauf for theym & their executors do covennte by these presents to and with the said commission's that the p'misses or anie parte therof shall not at eny tyme hereaft' be alienated Imbecellid or otherwise put away from ou$^r$ said sou'aigne lord but shal be aunswarable & furth cumyng to thuse of his highnes at suche tyme & tymes as his Ma$^{tie}$ or his honorable counsaill shall demaunde the same. In wytnes wherof the parties afforesaid to these p'sents ente$^r$chaungeablie have put their seales the day and yere above said. Incrm.' Mem. That ther is encresse of twoo bells one chalice & one olde vestemet at Holland chapell never put in any inventorie heretofoare."
It may here be stated that in the account of John Birde, bishop of Chester, giving the result of the enquiry made into the misappropriation of church ornaments, plate, bells &c., in his diocese, 12th January, 1548, it is said of Wigan that James Anderton and Robert Chaloner, the churchwardens, "had sold iij$^{tie}$ chales for viij$^{li}$ xviij$^s$ ix$^d$" which, they said, "was bestowed towarde the payment off o$^r$ bellis bought off the Kyng."
In 7 Edw. VI., 1553, Richard Smyth, clerk, parson of the church of Wigan, complains that William Gerrard, of Asheton, Esq., and John Winstanley of Blackehurst, gent, with divers other riotous persons, did seize and take some of the tithe corn and grain which the complainant's servants had loaded ready to be taken away, the said persons being armed with "bowes, pytche forkes, and longe staves." He (Richard Smyth) desires that a privy seal may be directed to William Gerrard, John Winstanley, John Marsh, Homeffray Colley, Rauf Harrison, and Thomas Knowle, commanding them to answer the said charge. In ​answer to this, Winstanley states that Richard Kyghley, late parson of the church of Wigan, did lease the said parsonage to John Ketchyn, Esq., for and during a term of years yet ensuing, which said lease was afterwards lawfully confirmed, by virtue of which the said John Ketchyn entered the said parsonage and was lawfully possessed thereof. The said John Ketchyn granted to Sir Thomas Gerrard, knight, and his assigns, the moiety of all the tithes of corn and grain within the town of Billinge for a certain term of years, and the said defendant, being the assign of the said Thomas Gerrard, considered that he had a right to take possession of the said corn, which he did in a lawful and peaceable manner. John Marsh and Thomas Knowle state that one half of the said tithes were demised to William Gerrard, and the other half to Sir Thomas Gerrard, knight, and his assigns, and they were instructed by John Winstanley and William Gerrard to carry away the said corn and grain.
The suit was renewed in the following year, 1 Mary, when Richard Smyth, clerk, parson of Wigan, lays a bill of complaint against William Gerrard, of Asheton in Makerfield, gentleman, John Winstanley of Blakeley, gentleman, John Marsh, of Billinge, yeoman, Humphrey Colley, of the same, yeoman, Lawrence Slynehed, of . . . , husbandman, Ralph Harryson, of the same, husbandman, and Thomas Knowle, of the same, husbandman, for carrying away three loads of tithe oats and three loads of tithe barley belonging to the parsonage of Wigan, and for which they refuse to make any recompence. The answers of Lawrence Slynehed and Humphrey Colley are almost illegible; William Gerrard gives a similar answer with respect to his portion of tithe as that which was given by John Winstanley the previous year. In answer to which Richard Smyth cites ​Kyghley's lease to Ketchyn of 11th February, 1542, and his own re-entry into the parsonage with all its rights and profits in consequence of the non-payment of the half-year's rent of £50, under Kyghley's lease to Ketchyn, within 40 days after it became due. William Gerrard says that if the rent was not paid it was by fraud between the complainant and Sir Thomas Langton, in order that the grant might be forfeited, that the complainant has no right by law or conscience to take advantage of this to avoid any particular lease, and that his re-entry into the parsonage is unlawful. Richard Smyth replies that the surmise of fraud is untrue. And Queen Mary, who had now succeeded her brother Edward, issues her commission to enquire into the matter.
At the Inquisition it was asked whether the said Smyth came to the parish church of Wigan on the 40th day next after the Feast of the Annunciation, in the 6th year of King Edward VI. (1552), and remained there all the same day till the sun was set, and then demanded £50, being the half-year's rent for the parsonage, and whether John Ketchyn or any person for him was ready to pay the said sum; and it was sworn, on behalf of Richard Smyth, by Charles Leghe aged 58 years servant to Miles Gerrard Esq., William Astley priest chaplain and servant to Miles Gerrard Esq. aged 64, Richard Gerrard gentleman aged 40, James Sherington aged 55, Thomas Gerrard gentleman servant to Miles Gerrard aged 35, Gilbert Holcroft aged 39 tenant to Miles Gerrard, and Robert Whalley aged 40 tenant to William Forthe gentleman, that the said Smyth had demanded the rent at sunset on the 40th day and it was not forthcoming. Robert Hatton, aged 67, who said that he had been bailiff to Ketchyn for 10 years and received the issues and profits of the said parsonage to the use of Ketchyn, swore to the lease granted to William Gerrard, now defendant, of a moiety of the tithe corn, hay, hemp and flax of the township of Billinge (being parcel of the said parsonage) for a term of 29 years, and also to the lease of the other moiety to Thomas Gerrard, Esq., for the term aforesaid; he further deposed that the said Thomas had made over his interest in the said ​moiety to John Winstanley, now defendant; that Ketchyn afterwards granted all his estate and interest in the said parsonage to Sir Thomas Langton, for which the said Sir Thomas paid 200 marks; that Edmund Burscowe was proctor or bailiff to the said Sir Thomas; that on the 40th day Richard Smyth re-entered the parsonage of Wigan; and that the said defendants did pay the rents due for the tithe [i.e. to Sir Thomas or his agent] 3 weeks or more before the re-entry into the said parsonage of Wigan. Sir Thomas Langton of Walton-in-le-Dale, aged 58 years, gives the same evidence as the last witness, cites the conditions of Kyghley's lease to Ketchyn, with the power of re-entry, and mentions that the said Ketchyn had at the time of the lease agreed with the said Kyghley to discharge him of charges for finding a curate to serve the said parsonage, which would amount to twenty nobles a year or thereabouts; he denies, however, that he made Burscowe his deputy or gave him authority to receive the rents belonging to the said parsonage; and says that he was in London at the time of the re-entry into the parsonage and did not know of the non-payment of rent; that when he was at Newton Park with the said Sir Richard Smyth he offered him the rent due, and the said Smyth refused to take it anywhere but at Wigan; that Burscowe offered the rent to the said Smyth the day after the expiration of the 40 days, and he refused to receive it; and the said Burscowe said he would complain to Lord Derby, upon which Smyth took the rent; that afterwards the said Smyth came to his (Langton's) mansion and promised to make amends for his conduct, which "is yet to do."
This suit concerning the tithes of Billinge was not determined until after the decease of parson Smyth, who died within little more than a year of the commencement of the suit.
John Ketchyn seems to have sub-let the church lands as well as the tithes during the term of his lease, for one Oliver Halghton of Wigan complains, in parson Smyth's time, that he was ​lawfully possessed of two closes of arable land lying in an enclosure called "the Ease," in the town of Wigan, together with the tithe of hemp, flax, and hay growing and remaining in the same town, for the term of 26 years not yet expired, by the lease of one John Ketchyn, Esq., to him made by an Indenture dated 6th March, 32 Henry VIII. (1540-1). He was also possessed of one croft of land commonly called "the Checker" and one "frounte" called "the Mayster's croft" leased to him by Robert Hatton, the date of which lease was 6th April, 32 Hen. VIII. (1541); and his complaint is that one Richard Smyth, parson of the church of Wigan, together with William Hyde of Wigan, saddler, Hugh Pemberton, and divers other persons unknown, have at divers times riotously entered the said land and detained the said tithes amounting to the value of £4 and do yet detain them, in the endeavour that the said Oliver, being a very poor man, may relinquish his term and interest therein.
Richard Smyth's tenure of the rectory of Wigan was a short one. If he was the same with the rector of Bury of that name he must have been an old man at the time of his admission to Wigan rectory, for Richard Smyth had already been rector of Bury for more than forty years. It is highly probable that he ​was the same as Richard Smyth who was instituted, on 27th September, 1548, to the vicarage of Sandbach, in Cheshire, which had become void by the resignation of Thomas Smyth.
Richard Smyth, parson of Wigan, died early in 1554, and was succeeded by Richard Gerrard.
* ↑ Record Society (Lancashire and Cheshire), vol. viii. p. 408. Perhaps this Richard Smyth may have been the same with the rector of Bury of that name, who would seem from the (before-mentioned) pleadings of Nicholas Towneley the younger, in the Duchy Court, to have had some earlier interest in lands belonging to the parsonage of Wigan (see p. 97). He must not be confounded with his contemporary of the same name who is described in Wood's Athenæ as the greatest pillar of the Roman Catholic cause in his time; which last Richard Smyth was one of the witnesses against Archbishop Cranmer, who had been his great friend in the reign of King Edward VI.
* ↑ Cope; a robe like a long cape or cloak used at solemn vespers, processions, &c.
* ↑ Vestment, or chasuble; originally a circular robe with an aperture at the top for the head; being the special robe prescribed for the celebrant at the Holy Communion in the first Prayer Book of Edward VI.
* ↑ Tunicle; a robe with sleeves and open at the sides, prescribed in the first Prayer Book of Edward VI. for the ministers assisting at the Holy Communion.
* ↑ Inventories of goods in the churches and chapels, taken in 1552; Q. R. Church goods, 6 Edw. VI. 3/49.
* ↑ Dom. Ser. Edw. VI., vol. iii. No. 4, quoted by Mr. Bailey in his Chetham Society's vol. on Inventories of Church Goods, 1552.
* ↑ John Winstanley is afterwards styled of Blakeley, gentleman.
* ↑ This Thomas Gerrard, who is styled Esq. in or about 1542-3 when he accepted the lease, and appears in 1553 as Sir Thomas Gerrard, I suppose to be the lord of Bryn and ancestor of the present Lord Gerard. He was High Sheriff of the county of Lancaster in 1553 and again in 1558.
* ↑ Duchy of Lancaster Pleadings, 7 Edw. VI. vol. viii. S. No. 7.
* ↑ Duchy of Lancaster Pleadings, 1 Mary, vol. vi. S. No. 1.
* ↑ Robert Hatton was bailiff of Wigan under Sir Thomas Langton, and the person employed by parson Kyghley to ride up to London and make arrangements for the payment of his first-fruits, for which he became joint-security with Ketchyn; so that it is not improbable that he also received a lease of some of the church lands in consideration of his services. Not only the office of bailiff was coveted in those days, but the stewardship or chief seneschalcy of the parson's manor seems to have been eagerly sought and accepted by the neighbouring gentry as a desirable piece of preferment which was probably held for life. In 1535 the stewardship was held by Robert Langton, the under-stewardship by William Walton, who was also clerk of the parson's court, and the bailiwick by Robert Hatton. In 1551 Sir Thomas Langton, the Lord of Newton and patron of the church was acting as chief steward, one Burscowe was then reputed to be the bailiff, and Thomas Gerrard, of Bryn, Esq., William Gerrard, and Edward, 3rd Earl of Derby, all acted in succession as deputy-stewards to Sir Thomas Langton.
* ↑ Duchy of Lancaster Pleadings, vol. ix. (No date) No. 6.
* ↑ Baines (Lancashire vol. i. p. 517) gives 21st October, 1507, as the date of Richard Smyth's institution to the rectory of Bury, where he built a chapel in the north aisle of his church; but in 15 Hen. VIII. (1523) Thomas Boteler, Esq., the king's commissioner for Lancashire and Cheshire, made a return to Sir Thomas More, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and to the King's council, that Richard Smyth, clerke, was parson of the church of Bury by the nomination of the Earl of Derby; that the parsonage was worth xl marks ; and that the said Richard had been incumbent by the space of twenty years. In 18 Henry VIII. (1526-7) Richard Smyth, clerk, as parson of Bury church, proceeded against John Grenehalghe and others for assault and disturbance of church service (Calendar of Duchy of Lancaster Pleadings, vol i. p. 132). In 27 Hen. VIII. (1535-6) he was LL.B., and the Pope's pardoner in Lancashire (Chetham Tract lix. p. 113; Lancashire Chantries). He answered a visitation call as rector of Bury (about 1547), at which time his assistants, or curates of the chapels, were D'ns Will'us Marshall, curatus, and Dn's Rich'us Battersbye. (Inventories of Church Goods in 1552, Chetham Tract, cvii. p. 47.)
* ↑ The patron of Sandbach for this turn was Richard Day of Leek, in the county of Stafford, by the grant of the Abbot and Convent of Dieulacres dated 3rd May, 1536, and signed by 13 members of the House. The Vicarage of Sandbach had become void by the death of the last incumbent before 20th April, 1554, on which day Peter Prestland was presented to this benefice. He paid his first fruits 9th May (Record Society, Lancashire and Cheshire, vol. viii. p. 396), and was instituted on 19th May in that year (Ormerod's Cheshire Helsby's ed., 1882, vol. iii. p. 105). This is strong presumptive evidence that the two Richard Smyths, whose livings became vacant about the same time, were one and the same person.