A SHORT HISTORY OF DOWNHOLLAND

by Dr Mona Duggan

Cross erected by Downholland Parish Council for the Millennium

Downholland has a long and well documented history; in fact the lords of the manor of Holland - as the district was known in early times - are recorded from the days of Edward the Confessor. The manor remained in the de Holland family until 1534 when it was sold to Sir Henry Halsall of Halsall. Since then the combined estates of Downholland, Haskayne, Barton and Halsall passed first to the Gerard family and then to the Mordaunt family before eventually being sold to Thomas Eccleston, the lord of Scarisbrick, who died in 1809. Downholland remained part of the Scarisbrick estate until 1945 when the hall and the estate sold in various lots.

Until the later years of the nineteenth century, the lands were administered by the Court Leet presided over by the lord of the manor or his steward. This court would meet at Downholland Hall in the room that can be identified today by the fact that the external walls are built of stone on the right of the main entrance. Here, each Michaelmas officials such as the pinder who collected stray animals, the moss seers, house lookers and the supervisors of the highways, would be chosen from among the male representatives of each family in the village when they gathered for the view of frankpledge - a roll call of all the tenants and freemen in the village. Most of the business of the court concerned the management of the land, drainage problems and the condition of the various properties in the village.

In the early 1970's, the chest containing the records of the court leet and other parish documents was discovered at Haskayne school. The documents were deposited at Lancashire Record Office where they can be consulted today. Some concerned the death of John Hughes of Downholland, who went into Ormskirk in April 1726 to have a few drinks at Henry Leatherbarrow's inn. During the evening a quarrel broke out between John Grice, Frank Wright and Sarah, the innkeeper's wife and a fight ensued. John died during the following month and the coroner suspected that his death was the result of injuries he had sustained that night. Consequently the suspects were sent for trial at Lancaster Assizes. As a result of this, the constable's accounts tell us that the constable of Downholland had to pay £10 10 6 towards the cost of conveying the suspects to gaol. However even though they were acquitted, the villagers had to find the money for the suspects' transport to Lancaster castle as part of the ley (tax) that was imposed on them each year to meet the constable's expenses.

Exactly when Haskayne School was founded and by whom is unclear, but the datestone for 1802 on the old buildings - now private residences next to the school - confirm that it was in existence long before the Education Act of 1870. It is probable that there had been a `dame's' school in the village since the 1750s or perhaps it was an outpost of the school held in Halsall Church. Certainly the Church of England have controlled it since the nineteenth century. Despite being Roman Catholics, the Scarisbrick family, as lords of the manor, contributed generously towards the funding of the present school building; in fact there are two shields on the wall of the School, one reads 'Erected by the Marquis and Count de Casteja AD 1890'. In the early days the children had to pay a small amount to their teacher towards her stipend and for the slates and chalks that was provided for them. The earliest recorded teachers are Catherine Mawdsley and her daughter Eliza Yates, who followed her mother into the post of headmistress in the 1850s.

 

The tithe map of 1847 lists several field names that provide a picture of the parish in the past. It includes Pinfold field where the stray animals were impounded until their owners claimed them, and also, Brick Kiln Hey alongside Downholland Hall. That would have been the place where clay was dug and the bricks were burnt in a kiln in readiness for the buildings of the Hall. Between the canal and the main Southport road are Delph Hey and Great Delph Hey, suggesting the site of an old quarry and indeed the contours of the land today confirm this possibility.

However perhaps the most interesting field names are Mill Hey, Lower Mill Hey and Great Mill Hey sited on the highest ground on the Southport road south of Haskayne canal bridge. This was the site of the village windmill - possibly the mill that was mentioned in a legal dispute in 1323. Several field paths used by the tenants when they brought their corn to be ground at the mill, still converge on the site today. Among the Quarter Sessions Petitions for 1662 is the miller’s plea to the justices for help because `the windmill was so shaken with the late boisterous and turbulent wind that unfortunately all the roof of the said milne was blown off and the said milne is now in danger to go to utter ruin’. What help he received is not recorded. Unfortunately the mill was demolished many years ago but the red sandstone outcrop on which it was built has recently been excavated by the farmer.

The passing of the Act to approve the construction of the Leeds and Liverpool canal in 1770 changed the lives of most of the villagers. Once the first sod had been cut in Halsall, scores of navvies - so called because they dug the navigations as the early canals were called - came to the district, or were recruited from among the local people. They needed all kinds of provisions and the villagers benefited from the trade. However according to the records many canal-side villagers charged exorbitant prices for their goods and the canal authorities were forced to set up their own stores to supply the men. There was also a marked increase in the number of illegitimate births in the area at that time.

Initially the canal had been intended to facilitate the transport of coal from Wigan to Liverpool, but once it was completed it was used for every kind of cargo. Passenger barges brought visitors to the area and many holiday makers passed through the village on their way to Southport. In fact the canal opened up the countryside giving easy access to villages, like Haskayne, that had been virtually inaccessible during many days during the winter when the lanes were knee deep in mud and the moss lands were flooded. However it was probably the farmers who benefited most from the canal. They were able to send their produce to the markets in Wigan and Liverpool, and in return, manure from the town's many horses and the night soil from the many houses were brought back to fertilise the fields. Agriculture prospered in the area as the labourers continually filled their wheelbarrows at the manure wharves and returned to spread the contents on the fields. The effect of all this labour is still to be seen today as the fields produce prolific vegetables and grain.

The village can still boast some of the old thatched cottages, albeit modernised for up-to-date living. Unfortunately Haskayne Hall, a fine Georgian building that stood in the centre of the village, was demolished in the early twentieth century. The village expanded after the Second World War when the local authority authorised the building of an estate to meet post-war housing needs.

Since then there have been a few private developments, but the green belt has protected the village from over-expansion.

However, a fine village hall has been built and it is proving the focus of many activities that involve most people in the village and thereby is restoring the old community spirit of yesteryear.

This short history of Downholland was written by Dr Mona Duggan, a noted local historian. Further detailed history of Haskayne School can be found in Dr Duggan's book 'The Village School Haskayne' written to celebrate the School's centenary.

For more information about the area, please see:

• Location maps

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