Samlesbury, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Chapelry History
SAMLESBURY, a chapelry, in the parish, and Lower division of the hundred, of Blackburn, union of Preston, N. division of Lancashire, 3 miles (E. by N.) from Preston, on the road to Blackburn; containing 1728 inhabitants. It consists of 4256 acres, whereof 450 are arable, 327 woodland, and the remainder meadow and pasture; the soil is various, the surface undulated, and the scenery beautiful. The river Ribble passes on the north-west, and the Darwen flows through. The first known lord of the manor was Gospatrick de Samsbury, who was living at the close of Henry II.'s reign. His descendant William left three co-heiresses, who by their marriages conveyed the estate into the families of Haunton, D'Ewyas, and de Holland: an heiress of Sir John D'Ewyas brought her portion to Sir Gilbert de Sotheworth, and it continued in that family upwards of three centuries and a half. Part of it was sold by them, in the reign of James I., to the Walmesleys; and part, in 1677, to the Braddyls. A portion of the manor became in 1847 the property, by purchase, of John Cooper, Esq., of the Oaks, near Preston, who is now joint lord with the Petre family, of Dunkelhalgh. The purchase included Samlesbury Hall, the ancient mansion of the Southworths, a black and white building, now a publichouse, standing on the road side. The house exhibits the remains of a magnificent manorial seat, and is remarkable for the immense quantity of timber employed in its construction, so much as to "almost have laid a forest prostrate: "the interior a bounds with rich and curious carved oak panelling. Roach spinning-mill here, belonging to Messrs. J. W. Dall and Son, and two other mills, one of them the property of Mr. Cooper, employ 500 persons. Spring Cottage is the residence of Charles Dall, Esq. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Blackburn, with a net income of £150, and a house. The chapel is dedicated to St. Leonard. On an eminence commanding a fine view of the Ribble, is a Roman Catholic chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; it was built in 1818, and is a neat structure with a beautiful and chaste interior. A school adjoining it is supported by the parents of the pupils, aided by the priest, the Rev. William Carter: a school at Turner Green has an endowment of £18 per annum. The sum of £27 yearly, derived from a farm in Whittlele-Woods, is appropriated to the benefit of the poor.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 11-15. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51254 Date accessed: 21 July 2010.

Civil Registration
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Church records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Lancashire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

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