HISTORIC SITES
OF
Lancashire and Cheshire.
A WAYFARER'S NOTES IN THE PALATINE COUNTIES,
HISTORICAL, LEGENDARY, GENEALOGICAL,
AND DESCRIPTIVE.
BY
JAMES CROSTON, F.S.A.
Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain; Member of the Architectural,
Archæological and Historic Society of Chester; Member of the
Council of the Record Society.
Author of "On Foot through the Peak," "A History of Samlesbury," "Historical Memorials
of the Church in Prestbury," "Old Manchester and its Worthies,"
"Nooks and Corners of Lancashire and Cheshire,"
etc., etc.
JOHN HEYWOOD,
Deansgate and Ridgefield, Manchester;
and ii, Paternoster Buildings,
LONDON.
1883.
TO
JOHN LEIGH, Esq.,
of
the manor house, hale, cheshire,
the president and
one of the founders of the society for the
reprinting of the rarer poetical literature
of the spenserain age,
in testimony of lengthened friendship
and literary obligation,
and
in appreciation of his efforts
to rescue from oblivion the legends and traditions
which cast the halo of romance round many of
the old halls and manor houses of
lancashire and cheshire,
this book is inscribed with
the best wishes of his sincere friend,
the author.
PREFACE.
The favourable reception accorded both by the Public andthe Press to a former work—Nooks and Corners ofLancashire and Cheshire—has encouraged the Author toprepare the present volume, which is issued with the hope thatit may be found not less worthy of acceptance. Like the onewhich preceded it, it illustrates, in a certain degree, the historyand romance of the two Palatine counties, the Author's aimhaving been to give to particular localities an individuality andfreshness, by presenting in an entertaining and popular formthe "sites" of remarkable scenes and incidents of bygone days."England," says a well-known writer, "is pre-eminently thecountry (compared with the rest of Europe) in which the monumentsthat embody historical associations, and link the presentwith a far-reaching past are most thickly strewn;" and inLancashire and Cheshire the soil is plentifully studded withthe memorials of ancient days, that stand out in refreshing andinstructive relief among the crowding evidences of modernpower and civilisation—places hallowed by associations and asthe homes of those whose memories we would not willingly letdie, and scenes that are identified with much of the history,tradition and romance of the centuries that are gone. No pretentionis made to what is commonly called the dignity of history,which usually means the placing of important personages andgreat events in prominent relief without regard to minor incidentsor the relations the figures in the background bear to the[Pg viii]occurrences recorded, the Author's purpose having been ratherto combine with well-attested facts, topographical description,personal narrative and local legend, and to snatch from Oblivion'sspoils the shadowy fragm