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Derby, by will dated 1572, directed that a chapel, with a cemetery, should be built at Ormskirk; and that his body should be interred there, and a monument erected to his memory cording to his honor and vocation." At a subsequent period some of the monuments of the Stanley family that had been raised at Burscough priory, were brought here. In the year 1719, the vicarage of Ormskirk was one of the sixty-three small livings augmented by Queen Anne's bounty. The church, which stands at the N. W. end of the town, on an eminence, contains, among other monuments," two figures of Stanlies; short hair, hands closed, heralds mantles and arms. Two ladies in close bodied gowns, one with an Earl's coronet. These probably were the first Earl of Derby and his two wives; the lady with the coronet his second wife, the Countess of Richmond; for the first, who was sister to the famous Richard Earl of Warwick, died before he was created Earl. The Ear!, in his will, mentions "personages" which he had caused to be made for his father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother, at Burscough. Probably all, except the above, were destroyed at the dissolution +.” In the year 1801, this town had a population of 2554 inhabitants. The parish includes several other

* The funeral of this nobleman, who died at Lathom House, October 24, 1574, and was buried on the 4th of the following December, was peculiarly magnificent, and conducted with great pomp and parade. A particular account of it is preserved in Collins's Peerage, extracted from the MSS. of John Anstis, Esq. Garter King at Arms. Among other things it states, that "the chapel, and house, with the two courts, should be hanged with black cloth, and garnished escutcheons of his arms.' A hearse was erected at Ormskirk, "of five principals, thirty feet of height, twelve feet of length, and nine feet of breadth, double railed, and garnished with black cloth, velvet, fringe of silk, taffaty lined with buckram; also gold and silver ornaments; helm, crest, and escutcheons." This stately hearse was erected in the nave of the church, where the body was conducted by a grand procession; and in which it was deposited for some time, during the performance of several formal ceremonies, and afterwards interred in the chapel.

+ Pennant's Tour from Downton to Alston Moor, p. 53.

other townships and hamlets; and at about two miles north are some small remains of BURSCOUGH PRIORY, which was founded in the time of Richard the First, by Robert Fitzhenry, who was then lord of Lathom. This Robert endowed it with considerable property, emoluments, and alms; and according to the weak superstition of the age, thought thereby to obtain pardon and rest for the souls of Henry the Second, John Earl of Moreton, himself, his wife, and those of his ancestors; at the same time wishing the kingdom of Heaven to all persons who would increase the gifts, and "giving to the Devil, and his angels, all who should impiously infringe on his bequests".At the time of the dissolution, this house maintained a prior and five canons of the Augustine Order, with forty servants; and was endowed, according to Tanner, with an annual income of 129l. 1s. 10d. Of this once extensive priory, only a small fragment of unshaped ruins remains. Contiguous to Burscough is

LATHOM-HOUSE, the seat of EDWARD WILBRAHAM BooTLE, Esq. M. P. This place is particularly distinguished, as the ancient residence and property of Robert de Fitzhenry, or Lathom†; several of the Stanley family; and lastly, the Bootles. During the calamitous civil wars in Charles the First's time, Lathom, like Wardour Castle, in Wiltshire, acquired particular renown in consequence of the gallant and heroic resistance that it manifested under the command of Charlotte, Countess of Derby, who was besieged here by Colonels Egerton, Rigby, Ashton, and Holcroft,

Dugdale's Monasticon, Vol. II. p. 304.

He was one of the Barons whose names are recorded on a curious manuscript roll, relating to the memorable siege of Calais, in the twenty-first year of the reign of Edward the Third. On this occasion he had under him one baron, eight esquires, one knight, and twenty-three archers on horseback. For some account of this siege, &c. see Vol. I. of the present work, under the article of Windsor-Castle.

+ See Beauties of Wiltshire, Vol. I.

Holcroft, from the 28th of February, 1644, to the 27th of May following, when the commander withdrew his forces to Bolton. The Earl was in the Isle of Man during this time. In this attack, it is stated that the Parliament-army lost above 2000 men, and yet marched nearly the same number away. The heroic, and most undaunted Lady Governess was often without the gates, and sometimes near the trenches of the enemy, encouraging her brave soldiers with her presence; and as she constantly began all her undertakings with prayers in her chapel, so she closed them with thanksgiving; and truly, it was hard to say whether she was more eminent for courage, prudence, or steady resolution; or justice, piety, and religion"." A description of the house, as it then stood, will shew how well it was adapted to resist the assailment of a considerable army. It stood upon a flat boggy ground, and was encompassed with a wall of two yards in thickness. On this wall nine towers were erected, each of them mounted with six pieces of ordnance, so placed as to enfilade the country, and command the approaches in every part. A moat, of twenty-four feet in breadth and six feet in depth, surrounded the whole; and round the bank of the moat, between the wall and the graff, was a strong row of pallisadoes. In the midst of the house, was the Eagle Tower, surmounting all the rest; and the gate-house, at the entrance of the first court, had a strong tower on each side. On these the best marksmen were judiciously placed to harass the besiegers, and frequently killed the officers and others in the trenches, and in their passage to and from them. The singular situation of this house increased the difficulties of the siege to an almost incredible degree; and the enemy was unable to raise a single battery against it, so as to make a breach in the wall practicable to enter the house by way of stormt. After the siege of Lathom house had been raised, on Prince Rupert's arrival there, directions were given

* History of the house of Stanley, 8vo. ed. p. 239.

+ History of the house of Stanley, p. 234, 254, &c.

given to add bastions, counterscarps, and all other outworks which could be necessary for its better defence, in case of another siege; but by an order from the king, on the 4th of December, 1645, it was surrendered to the Parliament army. The manor was afterwards charged with the payment of 6001. per annum, on a composition with the commissioners, the house having been mostly demolished on its coming into the hands of the parliament. But William-Richard-George, the ninth Earl of Derby, intending to re-edify this ancient seat, erected, in the same situation, a suniptuous and lofty front, which composes a part of the present house, but did not live to finish his design. After his death, it became the property of Henrietta Lady Ashburnham, one of the daughters and coheiresses of the above-named Earl of Derby, who sold it to Henry Furness, Esq. from whom it was purchased, in 1724, by Sir Thomas Bootle, of Melling, in the same county, afterwards chancellor to Frederick Prince of Wales, whose niece married Richard Wilbraham, Esq. of Rode-Hall, in Cheshire; and their eldest son, Edward Wilbraham Bootle, Esq. is the present possessor.

Lathom House was built of stone, by Sir Thomas Bootle, after a beautiful design of Leoni, which is to be seen in the 4th vol. of Vitruvius Britannicus. Dr. Aiken describes it as having a ground floor, principal, and attic; aud a rustic basement, with a double flight of steps to the first story. The north front contains nine windows on each floor, and the south front thirteen. The body of the house extends one hundred and fifty-six feet by seventyfive; and the offices are attached to it by two colonades, supported by Ionic pillars. Among other good apartments, Lathom house contains a hall of forty feet square and thirty high; a saloon of forty by twenty-four, and twenty-four high; a large library, besides two principal staircases. The pictures are few, and consist chiefly of Frederick Prince of Wales, and the principal persons of his court.

This house stands nearly in the centre of a park, five miles round, and commands an extensive view, towards the north, of

the mouth of the river Ribble and the sea, with the mountains which divide Yorkshire and Lancashire. At a quarter of a mile from it, in the park, is a chapel, founded in the fifteenth century, with some almshouses adjoining, for the benefit of twelve almspeople. A chaplain, who bears the name of Almoner, does the duty regularly at this chapel.

Just out of the limits of the old park, which embraced a circuit of ten miles, was a celebrated spring of chalybeate water, known in all old accounts of Lancashire, by the name of Maudlin-Well. Its water, in taste and quality, resembled that at Tunbridge Wells; and, in a book published in 1670, by Dr. Borlase, on this subject, is said to have performed many cures. About two years ago, in working the coal-mines in the neighbourhood, this spring was lost: but in Lathom Park, near the house, there is one of the same quality, though of inferior strength.

The township of Lathom, in the year 1801, bad 2179 inhabitants and 449 families. In this township is

CROSS-HALL, once belonging to the Earls of Derby, but now the property of Colonel Stanley, M. P. The house having become very ruinous, in consequence of age, was, not long ago, pulled down, and a farm-house occupies its place. Not far heuce is

BLYTHE-HALL, formerly the property of William Hill, Esq. but lately purchased by Thomas Langton, Esq.

In the neighbouring township of Dalton, is a hill, at the top of which is an old beacon, called ASHHURST-BEACON, used as a sea-mark by ships entering into Liverpool harbour from the north. It commands a most extensive view on almost every side; and on a clear day, the hills of Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Shropshire, are clearly seen, as well as the whole coast of North Wales, from the Dee to Anglesea, and sometimes the Isle of Man.

SCARISBRICK