BROUGHTON (IN THE AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED)

Broughton in Amounderness is a civil parish to the north of Preston in central Lancashire. The name Broughton has developed down the years initially it was referred to as

“Brocton” in the Domesday book (1086) which over the years became; Brocton,

1200; Brocton, 1256; Brochton, 1261; Brocton, 1262; Brighton, 1292; Brocton, 1297

and finally by 1345 Broughton.

The actual name derives from “ton” or “tune” means hamlet or farm, so we have the

hamlet or farm of Brock is Celtic name meaning “badger like” usually used to refer to

a person with a white streak in their hair. So we have the hamlet or farm of the man

with a white hair streak form the late 800’s.

It is referred to as Amounderness to distinguish it form the 4 other Troughton’s in the

duchy of Lancaster at Salford, Ulverstone, Cartmell & Furness.

The parish today is much smaller than the original one which encompassed land as far south as Blackball Lane in Fulwood, as far west as Ingol-head and to the south east it encompassed areas around Fulwood Hall (Preston Golf Course) up until 1935l. Today its boundaries are the west the west coast railway line, to the north Barton Brook to the north west the M6 with the old hamlet of Fernyhalgh and to the south west the M55 and south east the brisket ground. The current village centre is based around the old toll road, to the south of where the coaching inns were. To the south of this area is the Anglican parish church with the school which is to the northern end of the parochial church parish. Further to the south beyond the M55 the old hamlet of Durton that once held weekly markets and is now the focus of the new housing developments within the parish boundaries that are part of the NW Preston development area. The parish also includes the farm, Catholic Church and school at Fernyhalgh a hamlet associated with the Ladyewell shrine in the neighbouring Haighton Parish. The parish has a number of working farms mostly mixed cereal for animal feed with one diary and several sheep herds. The working farms encompass approximately 65% of the parish. The land slopes north to south from the crossroads. The land to the east is undulating’s with the related streams producing several valleys to the west and a deeper on to the north to Barton.

The agricultural land is grade 3 with the valleys having an alluvial soils and the hills a heavy clay soil. The landscape has been shaped initially by the streams. There are two waterways

Blundell Brook, runs from west to east with on the north bank stand the parish

church and Broughton House and Barton Brook to the south of Barton Hall.

The modern landscape has been shaped by transport routes. There is evidence of roman roads in the vicinity going north/south Lancaster to Preston Ribble crossing (maybe east/west Ribchester to Fleetwood). In 1555 Parish’s (at this time they were all Parochial and managed by the Parish Church) were made responsible for the roads used by packhorses and in 1663 the Turnpike act allowed for the setting up of Turnpike Trusts that managed the roads for the parish. In 1697 Parliament required the fixing of inscribed “finger posts or stones giving mileage and direction”. This was when it took 2 hours to travel form Preston to Garstang. Within the parish boundaries one of these stone markers in the layby to the north of the crossroads. Milestone: The milestone is in stone, and has a triangular plan with convex sides

and a rounded top. The sides have panels with the distances in miles to Garstang

and to Preston.

There is a description of a “highway” from this time that “spanned 6 feet, paved with stones and bordered by posts” that the constable had had to have repaired in 1654. This was the roadway that Jacobite’s and roundheads would have travelled…. A contemporary description prior to the listing of the road in 1760 describes it as “a

turnpike road goes north from Preston to Garstang; it crosses Blundell Brook at

Broughton Bridge, from which a road goes eastward to Durton and then Haighton. It

then climbs the hill to the four ways where a roadway goes east to Whittingham it

them travels north up a steep incline to Barton”

The repair of the road was supervised by a surveyor appointed by the JP who

expected householders to give their labour on skirtini appointed days. The problem

was where to get the stone for report from as this very busy road was constantly

needed repair. Broughton does not have canal within its boundaries but the

construction of the nearby Lancaster canal in 1797 allowed the establishment of 2

shipping bays at Barton and Ingol-head where stone from the quarries near Kendal

could be shipped to.

At the northern end of the parish two farms/hostelries were used to service the

travellers. As early as 1629 there were licensed victuals and stage posts in the

village. The two hostelries continued to farm as well as take care of travellers up unlit

the early 20th century. The hostelry to the east was called the Shuttleworth Arms and

had extensive stable and a blacksmiths next door.

Opposite the Golden Ball or Bell had a stable with a saddlers store next door and a

corn mill on the other side.

The stage coaches (so called as you paid according to how many stages your

covered) that used the Turnpike road until the 1850’s when railways took over

stopped at the inns as did the wagon drivers, the cattle drovers and the other road

users.

The turn pike trust for the stretch though Broughton was set up in 1824 to manage

the stretch from Broughton Gate to Myerscough (Garstang)

They employed a carpenter, blacksmith and surveyor; initially they did not pay the

gatekeeper but in 1827 he became an employee and in 1841 they built a Toll house.

There were 2 gatehouse on the stretch at Broughton & Catterall. The 1st Broughton

gatekeeper was Henry Ball who appears to have lived in “pinfold cottage”.

The accounts show that the turnpike never made a profit over its 50 years of

operation and handed over responsibility to the Parish Highways Board in 1875.

The accounts show that they repaired, widened, brought “composite” to “firm” the

highway spent a lot of time trying to get the various parishes to pay their part for

maintenance, Barton seems particularly bad at this. Messer Blackridge regulalrly

feature as non payers and by 1835 they were alos being fined for this late payment.

The accounts have many interesting insights into the management of the road and

show that the villages along the way benefitted from “lampposts” in 1830. Fines from

cattle impounded for straying onto the highway are recorded in 1832 & 1835 as half

the gatekeepers wages.

.

It is an animal pound where stray livestock such as pigs or sheep were impounded until claimed by their owners or sold to cover the costs. The terms "pinfold" and "pound" are Saxon in origin. "Pundfald" and "pund" both mean an enclosure. There appears to be no difference between a pinfold and a village pound. The term pinfold seems to be more popular in the north and east of England, whilst in the south and west the term pound is more popular, generally where the enclosure is called a pinfold it dates back to the 10-11th century. The Village pound was a feature of most medieval villages. By the 16th century most villages and townships would have had a pound. Most of what remains today would date from the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 18th & 19th century those by toll roads were used for cattle or sheep that strayed onto the Toll Roads. Early pounds had just briar hedges, but most were built in stone or brick, making them more stock-proof. The size and shape of village pounds varies, some are four

sided: rectangular, square and irregular, others are circular. In size they vary from a few square meters to over 0.5 ha. Broughton Pinfold is seen on maps as early as the 17th century as well as Pinfold Cottage which is through to be where the “Pound keeper” lived. The Pinfold is grade 2 listed and has sandstone walls with a limestone cement about 1.5 metres (4 ft. 11 in) high. These form a rectangular enclosure about 10 metres (33 ft.) long and 8 metres (26 ft.) high. The walls have rounded coping, and there is a gate with a lintel at the northwest. Internally the structure has a”trough, stoup and evidence of a hut or building” (Rev Jackson Broughton Roundabout). The Pinfold is described in the parish council notes of 1920 as “an ancient hold for sheep and other animals who stray onto the road”. At this time it was offered as a site for the war memorial but this was dismissed “not right to honour men with a memorial where stock dung was prolific”.

In 1841 the trust decided that the gate keepers house was to far from the gate (the

post of which is by park house)

.

and that in 1841 it was decided to extend a cottage that faced the toll bar and build a

new house at parallel to the road. This originally displayed the tarrifs on a board on

its western side.

In the north where the road crosses Barton Brook a bridge was erected and the road

was repaired, the slope reduced and a horse trough placed by the Misses Cross who

lived at the top of Barton Rise. This followed a series of accidents to wagons and

coaches due to the state of the road. The worst accident in 18XX was when a wagon

with boilers on board slipped down the slope “killing and maiming 4 horses and 2

men”.

The next major influence on the landscape was the development of the railway

between 1843-1847 north though the parish to Lancaster and eventually Glasgow.

However in the early days of rialywas there were many more stations along this

stretch with one to the Broghton & barton one on station lane in Barton, linked to the

highway by Station lane. A southern station at Ingol head was only a halt in that it

had no platform. Those who embarked or disembarked here didi so at their own risk!

This led to the end of the stagecoach but ever enterprising the publican at the

Golden Ball, Robert Parkinson had a carriage service to his hostelry to wait.

The Broughton High street in 1935 was a busy main road with Iron Park (now the

garage to the north east of the traffic lights) a truck stop where the “best eggs and

bacon were served on the road to Fleetwood port”. The parish council noted in 1937

that the road was “not serving the village just the masses” and asked for Fulwwod

Urban District council and Preston Council to help them get a bypass……

The final influence to the landscape was the opening of the M6 motorway in 1966 the

first one in the Uk, aiming to bypass Preston.

The Bypass 2017?

The Village Centre It is difficult to gain an impression fo the Village Centre currently as this is the main A6 road, however if you look carefully you can see propertie that were built in the 16th 17th & 18th centuries all of which have added to the village story. The village is currnelty having a bypass built and Lancashire County Council in conjunction with City deal has consulted with the community to provide extensive improvments to this area. These will indlcue restoring and enhancing the village centre to its maximum. The photso show the viallge with the main roas still carrying the 40,000 cars (V+XX) crunently travelling though. Post bypass this will recude to less than 5,000 (V+XXX) Details of the properties and their inhabitants are will be added form the spreadsheet. Looking north from the crossroad you see the highway stretching down to Barton Brook and up to Barton. This view as with most of the village is enhanced by the many mature English trees with oak, elm, sycamore and horse chestnut amongst the species .there are over XX listed trees in the village.

But if you then look south you see the old village untouched since the 1850’s. To the west there is the coaching inn, the Cornhill, and a row of Queen Anne cottages.

Continuing along the west side there are 3 substantial Victorian houses built between 1840-1880

The next building is the late Victorian Police house that replaced the opposite and after the field the original telephone exchange

On the east side at the south end of the King George V playing fields (note the gateposts re-erected in the 1990’s the wrong way round) the Pinfold is found. This area was originally where Broughton Row and the entrance to Old Broughton Hall was, both are now accessed off Whittingham Lane. Goings south down the main road we pass two early Georgian cottages (now one

house\0 with a mounting block outside and a Christian Rossetti motto over the door.

Next to which is the 1st world war memorial beside the lane leading to Bank Hall

and Bankhouse farm are listed and consist of a late medieval manor house or

farmhouse that was converted into two dwellings. It has a timber-framed core,

including a full cruck truss. It is clad in brick which is partly rendered, and has a slate

roof. The building has two seys, and a T-shaped plan, with a front of six bays and a

rear wing. The windows are sashes. Inside are a large inglenook and a bressumer.

They are private houses. The nest building now the Ambulance Trust HQ is Broughton House, and finally we pass down the hill to Blundell Brook besdie which are Bridge Cottages built in the late 19th Century as farmer workers cottages by Mr Dickson the then owner of Yates farm. Durton: Daniels Farmhouse an isted sandstone house with quoins and a roof of

blue slate. It has two storeys and T-shaped plan with a main range and a later rear

wing. The windows are mullioned. Inside is a large inglenook and a bressumer. It

dates form the late medieval period. This is a private house.

Fernyhalgh: St Mary's Church and Presbytery, a listed church in brick with a

sandstone plinth and quoins and a slate roof. It has a cruciform plan with five bays

and two-bay transepts. At the west end is a bellcote and a semi-circular Tuscan

porch. The presbytery attached to the east of the church has two bays and two

storeys, and a two-story canted bay window built between 1792-1794. The interior

paintings are worth a visit.

St Marys Roman Catholic School, a listed school building currently used as a

nursery. It is in sandstone with a slate roof, and has an H-shaped plan. The building

is symmetrical with a three-bay central block and singe-storey gabled cross wings

with tablets in the tympani. At the top of the main block is a moulded cornice and a

parapet with a pediment containing the date in Roman numerals? The central

doorway has a moulded architrave and a cornice it was built in 1836.

On the east side of the road School/church lane framed by estate railings leads to a complex of structures mostly listed around the parish church. St John the Baptist Church: The oldest part of the church is the tower. The rest of

the church was rebuilt in 1823with further additions in 1905–06. It is made of

sandstone with slate roofs, and consists of a nave, a north porch, a chancel with an

organ chamber to the south, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages with

diagonal buttresses, an embattled parapet, and a southwest stair turret.

Mounting block: The mounting block is by the entrance to the Church Cottage. It is

small and in stone, and consists of two steps and dates form the late 18th century.

Church Cottage: The cottage has been restored and converted into a museum. It is

in rendered brick with a thatched roof. The cottage has two bays, the first bay with

1 1⁄2 storeys, and the second bay with two. At the rear is a lean-to extension. In the

first bay is a casement window, and in the second bay are sliding sash windows in

both floors. The buildings date form the late 18th century. The cottage is open to the

public on Sunday afternoons.

Stocks: The stocks are near gateway to the churchyard of St John the Baptist's

Church, and were restored in 1902. They consist of two stone slabs, with two

wooden beams and metal shackles, and have housing for two occupants. Behind is

a stone bench carrying an inscription relating to the initial restoration.

Sundial: The sundial stands to the south of St John the Baptist's Church vestry in

the graveyard. It is in stone, and consists of an octagonal vase-shaped pedestal with

a moulded square foot and cap. On the top is a brass plate and a gnomon probably

18th century.

St John Church of England School, Broughton: The building is part of the

modern primary school. It was built in 1883 in sandstone with a slate roof, and is in

Jacobean style. It has a single storey with three wide bays, and there is a later wing

at the rear. On the front are buttresses and windows, three of which have three

stepped lights under gablets. To the left is a porch with a Tudor arched doorway,

above which is a panel and a crowstepped parapet, and there is a similar porch

behind the right bay. The road rises up the Broughton Bank and is framed by mature trees. The Edwardian Vicarage sitting on the rise above the church field is next to the Marriott Hotel formerly XXX. Fronting onto the main road is a copse of trees planted by the Dickson family to frame the 1nd world war bench of contemplation which is opposite the main war memorial. Adjacent to his is Yates Farm, taking its name from its 17th century farmer who built parts of the property.

Back up the road by the village car park is the pinfold, the tollbar post and “Arkwright’s cottages” a row of previously thatched properties dating from the early 1800’s.

The Hanson cab shop and the joiners have both demolished and replace by a garage and late Edwardian house. The road to the east now called Whittingham lane was originally a track that led to the land of John Ward in 1829 he build a small terrace of cottages referred to as Spinsters Row.

These are all still in place as is his farmhouse built in 1853.

Next to these is the Broughton & District club now a private club built for the workers in the village by subscription on land donated by Mr Ward.

Further along Whittingham Lane surrounded by trees and nearly invisible form the road is The Stone House: This listed house was built in 1911 with Arts and Crafts features

in sandstone with stone-slate roofs. It has two storeys, and an L-shaped plan, with a

three-bay main range facing south and a long rear east wing. The windows are

mullioned, and some also contain transoms. The outer bays of the main range are

gabled, and the upper floor of the centre set-back bay is timber-framed with an oriel

window and a balcony. Some of the interior furniture, dating from about 1700, was

moved from the Castle Inn in Preston.

Broughton War memorials: full details are on the pa On the north side of this track next to the Shuttleworth Arms was the village post office in Ivy House which was extended in the last Edwardian house and is now part of Laburnum house

The west side of the village crossroads is Woodplumpton lane and old track that leads to the village of Woodplumpton and by Sandgate lane to ingo head. This lane led to Newsham Hall (in Woodplumpotn parish) winding around the hedged fields of the farms along its route. Unfortunately the 2 notable house of Stanley House & Pluton Cottage have been demolished but Popes Farm remains, famous as a place where priests were hidden during the persecutions of Catholics.