Thomas Charnocke. v. Sir Urian Leigh



My family worked in the Lancashire coal mines and quarries and a great uncle, and namesake, left Lancashire for America on board the R.M.S.. Oceanic in 1901 to work in the coal mines at Frostburg in Maryland. 



I like to reflect this ancestry in the unofficial coat of arms I designed for my family.  



The two canaries facing each other on the black chevron are in honour of my grandfather breeding canaries to test for the lethal methane gas in the mines and the pick for his role as coal hewer.





On leaving the mines he came to Chorley where he set up in business as a Bird Fancier’s supply stores and Corn Chandlers.  

He served the people of Chorley as a Councillor, for many years.



Because of this ancestry  it is of especial interest when visitors to the Long Gallery in Astley Hall regularly pose the question - "where did the money come from?" 


The Charnocks of Astley Hall had been substantial land owners since the 13th century and owned many acres of  coal bearing land within the county.   Things didn’t always go smoothly, even for wealthy families, and they had to take to the courts for justice.  The National Archive in Kew and the Lancashire Record office in Preston contain many documents referring to the family’s legal tangles.


The Court of the Star Chamber during the reign of James I of England was frequently applied to by members of the nobility and other powerful people when the local courts may have found difficulty pronouncing judgement on them.  The system was abolished under the Long Parliament led by John Pym in 1641.


One case brought before the Court four hundred and five years ago during May 1615, the plaintiffs were Thomas Charnocke, as the name was written at the time, and his wife Bridget.  She was the daughter of the Sir Richard Molyneaux of Sefton



Their case was that Sir Urian Leigh, Baronet, of Adlington Cheshire along with others had destroyed a machine for pumping out the Charnocke’s coal mines in Bradford, Manchester and digging out coal from their land at Claydon.


Sir Urian, one time Sheriff of Cheshire, had been knighted by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, following the capture of Cadiz from the Spanish in 1596

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The year moves inexorably on

Image
  The route through Astley Park has formed part of my  daily walk on an almost daily basis and I regularly see visitors reading the notice on the south front of the building explaining the closure of the Hall and the planned work programme taking place over the next 20 months or so. Occasionally my longing to share the story of the Hall and its residents over the last 400 years or so gets the better of me and I stop to all them all about them. This often leads to them sharing their stories of historic buildings they have visited and loved. As a volunteer room steward in the Long Gallery I have welcome visitors from as far as Australia and been delighted to share 'selfies' with many as a reminder of their visit to Chorley.   Hopefully they have all felt their visit was enhanced by my tales that attempt to bring to life the families who have lived at the. Hall.    Reading the family trees of the 'Gentry' families of Lancashire reveals the very close connections wi...
Read more

Talk for members of The Friends of Astley Hall

Image
The painting of Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria with their children is one of the paintings discussed in  the zoom talk free to members of the Friends of Astley Hall.  The speaker will reveal Henrietta Maria's connection with Lancashire and a member of the Brooke family whose cousins lived at Astley Hall. You can join at the Friends by downloading the application form from here  All members will be sent the easy to use  link to join the zoom talk on your computer or tablet You can support the work of the Friends of Astley Hall by making a donation from your phone: Text Astley 1 to 70085 to donate £1 Text Astley 2 to 70085 to donate £2 Text Astley 5 to 70085 to donate £5 or any amount you may choose Thank you so much for your help If you get a 'Network Error' message you may have a block on your account to prevent extra charges.  You will get an offer to pay with your bank card.
Read more

The Charnock's Carved Shield

Image
The countless questions raised during my role as a volunteer room steward in Astley Hall's Long Gallery frequently revealed the gaps in my knowledge and prompted further research.  Several questions that taxed me were about the elements of the various shields displayed on the shields on view inside  the Hall and carved in the panelling and framework of the building.  This  drew me into the world of the Heralds who maintained the records of Arms from the time of the Crusades and throughout the medieval world. Over the centuries various Armigerous families bearing Coats of Arms beginning with the Charnock family have displayed there shield with pride in the fabric of the building be it glass, wood or stone and these materials have preserved them to this day. Then, as now, people adopted arms belonging to other families without right or permission.  Today this is very prevalent among internet companies purporting to provide your Arms but, in reality, simply sel...
Read more