'The Story of Cottam Hall and The Haydock Family Pt 1'
Channel: theyellowfactory
Date: 2021-08-03

‘The Story Of Cottam Hall And The Haydock Family’ Part 1

Cottam is a residential suburb to the north of Preston, Lancashire, which has developed over recent decades around what was once a small rural community of mainly farms and small holdings. Cottam is still growing rapidly today.

In early 2021 I did some reading into its history. I realised that there was a story here that was worth telling. I was immediately drawn into the history of the Haydock family who lived in the moated Cottam Hall from the 13th century onwards. They were an influential Catholic family who, over generations, sent their sons to train as Catholic priests. 

Two archaeological studies were also undertaken at Cottam Hall and published in 1985 and in 2003. These have added greatly to the understanding of the site and I am very grateful to have been able to use them.

After the time of Henry Vlll the Haydock family was prominent among the persecuted, recusant Catholics of Lancashire at a time when it was illegal to follow the Catholic faith. The private chapel at Cottam Hall continued to hold services in the community and was no doubt frequently raided by the authorities.

William Haydock, a monk at Whalley Abbey, joined The Pilgrimage of Grace against King Henry VIII after the dissolution of the monasteries and was arrested and tried at the Lancaster Assizes. He was hanged at Whalley on 11th March 1537. 

Priest George Haydock was arrested by the forces of Elizabeth I in 1582, imprisoned in the Tower of London and hanged at Tyburn on 12th February 1584.

In 1703 John Baines, a priest from the chapel at Cottam Hall, took a barn nearby and opened it as a public chapel dedicated to St. Andrew. The present chapel at Cottam was completed in 1793. The story of this church is closely linked to the story of Cottam Hall and both were allegedly the target of several anti Catholic mobs and attacks during the 1700s. 

The Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, which ended at The Battle of Preston, was supported by William Haydock of Cottam Hall and Bonnie Prince Charlie later rode by with his army during the second rebellion of 1745. 

The hall and its estates were sold after the death of the childless William Haydock in 1717 but the family continued to make history even into the 19th century. Two brothers, Thomas and George Haydock, were born at another nearby family home called The Tagg and worked together, one priest and one publisher, to publish in 1814 a new English language version of The Bible at the time of Catholic emancipation. The Haydock Bible became the most popular bible of the 19th century and beyond on both sides of The Atlantic.

The Haydock Bible became well established in the US and family copies of the book have been used by two presidents in the taking their presidential oath, John F. Kennedy and more recently Joe Biden.

I hope you enjoy the story!