Page:The History of the Church & Manor of Wigan part 2.djvu/151

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History of the Church and Manor of Wigan.

find; but it is probable that this prescriptive right of the parson to grind the corn of all his tenants at his own suit mill did not survive the troublous times which followed.

King Charles' second parliament assembled at Westminster on 17th March, 1627-8, and was dissolved on 10th March, 1628-9. The bishop returned to Wigan in May, 1628, and remained there till September; and he was there again for a short time in December and January, after which he probably returned to London.

I presume that after his return from parliameut in the spring of 1628-9 he went into residence at Chester. There is an entry in his bailiff's accounts for that year of a payment to Wakefield "to carry nine horses to London to fetch my lord down."

I do not find him at Wigan again till September, 1629, where he seems to have remained about two months before keeping his Christmas at Chester.

There is an entry in the Wigan Leger of 8th October, 1629, which partially describes the position of the cowhouses and shippons at Wigan Hall in bishop Bridgeman's time, and shows that landed proprietors had the same difficulty in stopping trespassers, and preventing the acquirement of rights of way by the public, as has been the case in later days. "Henry Wakefield, son of John W., panner, trespassed in my court (having formerly sayd it was his way and he would goe it) and went through my fold towards the barne-dore and so along by the stable and shippon dore towards the midle maynes, where I had licenced diverse of my neighbours upon [their] entreaty to goe that way diverse years before, but because under color of a com̄on way I had susteyned much loss, for in a fortnight's space 6 or 8 of my sheep were stoln away by night, and many pullen, &c., and diverse things besides out of my stables, therefore I charged my groom Peter to forbid all from thenceforth to goe that way, wch he did accordingly; but now H. Wakefield saying he would goe there in despight, I caused Peter to turn him back and doe purpose to sue him for it, because some desperat knaves (whereof