Page:The History of the Church & Manor of Wigan part 1.djvu/120

Sir Thomas Langton, who seems to have looked upon himself as the parson's representative, busied himself much with Wigan affairs. From the time of Kyghley's institution he had "laboured hard" to be appointed steward of the manor under the parson with a fee of £4 though as baron of Newton he was in theory his superior lord; and when the parson refused to appoint him he took the office upon himself and, by himself or his deputy, acted as the parson's steward in the manorial courts. In this capacity he made himself obnoxious to the Corporation of Wigan by obstructing them in the exercise of the liberties which they claimed. In 31 Hen. VIII. (1539) a complaint was laid in the Duchy Court by the Mayor and burgesses of the town of Wigan, who say that they were accustomed to elect a Mayor yearly on the Saturday after Michaelmas Day, but that Sir Thomas Langton, knight, and Thomas Gerrard of Brynne, Esq., being confederate with Robert Worseley, Esq., John Ketchyn, gent., John Langtre, Esq., Gilbert Assheton, gent, and others, riotously disturbed the said election, and encouraged the common people to do the same, so that the said Mayor and burgesses were not able to govern the said town, being in peril of their lives, and not daring to attend to their duties; which said gentlemen, together with more than forty other riotous persons armed with "swerds, buclers, staves, daggers, and other unlefull wepons," came into the court house of the town when the Mayor and burgesses were electing the said Mayor, and having set themselves on the Bench, Sir Thomas commanded them that they should not elect a Mayor, and Thomas Gerrard said to Rauf Browne, one of the burgesses, "For all your packyng it shall not serve you." When they had departed, however, the election proceeded, and Adam Bankes was chosen to be Mayor. Sir Thomas Langton and his friends on several occasions openly declared that they would not take Bankes for Mayor, which was likely to cause great trouble and disturbance in the said town, but that the Mayor and burgesses with "all theyre wyttes and powers did circumspectly take hede thereof." Again, on the Sunday before the Feast of