Page:The History of the Church & Manor of Wigan part 2.djvu/243

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

422

History of the Church and Manor of Wigan.

year, Laud shews himself not unmindful of the bishop's kindness to his kinsman Dr. Moreton:^[1]

"S. in Xp̃o.

My very good Lo:

I have receaved two Lr̃es from you. In the first one nothing but your thankes for giving my Stewardshi^pp to your eldest sonne; and I hope he will doe me such service in that place as that I shall have cause to thanke both you and him.

Your second Lr̃es give mee thankes alsoe for your younger sonne,^[2] to whom I have given the Rectory of Odington.

↑ Dr. Edward Moreton, of Little Moreton, in the county of Chester, was the son of William Moreton, of Little Moreton, Esq. Originally a younger son he became a fellow of King's College, Cambridge; and afterwards married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Webb, knight, and niece of archbishop Laud. The relationship between Laud and Moreton is thus given by Ormerod [Hist. of Cheshire, vol. iii. p. 29); but à Wood (Athenæ) tells us that the archbishop's mother, wife of William Laud, was the daughter of John Webbe, of Reading, and sister of Sir William Webbe, knight, Lord Mayor of London in 1591, so that Edward Moreton's wife was really the archbishop's first cousin. Laud commended Moreton to bishop Bridgeman desiring of him that he would find some preferment for him in the diocese of Chester, where his temporal property was situate. He was by the bishop preferred to the rectories of Barrow and Tattenhall in 1637, and made rector of Sephton on the death of Dr. Leigh in June, 1639. Canon Baines (in the Notitia Cestriensis, vol. ii. p. 217) and Baines (Hist. Lanc., vol. iv. p. 211) erroneously place it in 1629, but Dr. Leigh continued rector there till 1639. Canon Baines tells us that Moreton was also rector of Standish, and afterwards chaplain to the Lord Keeper; but there is no record of his having ever paid first-fruits as rector of Standish, and his appointment to that parish is very doubtful. He was deprived of his preferments about the year 1643, but was reinstated after the Restoration; and dying 28th February, 1674, was buried at Sephton (Helsby's Ormerod's Cheshire, vol. iii. p. 51). His son William Moreton, born in 1641, became successively bishop of Kildare and of Meath.
↑ Henry Bridgeman, third surviving son of the bishop, was entered as a Commoner of Oriel College, Oxford, in April, 1629, where he took his B.A. degree 20th October, 1632. He was elected fellow of Brazennose 6th December, 1633, and took his master's degree l6th June, 1635. In the following year he went on his travels into Scotland, Denmark, and North Germany. He resigned his fellowship in 1639 (Wood's Athenæ), on his acceptance of the rectory of Oddington near Oxford, which must have been his first preferment, as he was not then quite twenty-four years of age. He was made, soon afterwards, rector of Barrow, in Cheshire, to which he was instituted 16th December, 1639 (Helsby's Ormerod's Cheshire, vol. ii. p. 342), in the place of Dr. Moreton. He was admitted to the rectory of Bangor monachorum on 9th January,

[1] Dr. Edward Moreton, of Little Moreton, in the county of Chester, was the son of William Moreton, of Little Moreton, Esq. Originally a younger son he became a fellow of King's College, Cambridge; and afterwards married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Webb, knight, and niece of archbishop Laud. The relationship between Laud and Moreton is thus given by Ormerod [Hist. of Cheshire, vol. iii. p. 29); but à Wood (Athenæ) tells us that the archbishop's mother, wife of William Laud, was the daughter of John Webbe, of Reading, and sister of Sir William Webbe, knight, Lord Mayor of London in 1591, so that Edward Moreton's wife was really the archbishop's first cousin. Laud commended Moreton to bishop Bridgeman desiring of him that he would find some preferment for him in the diocese of Chester, where his temporal property was situate. He was by the bishop preferred to the rectories of Barrow and Tattenhall in 1637, and made rector of Sephton on the death of Dr. Leigh in June, 1639. Canon Baines (in the Notitia Cestriensis, vol. ii. p. 217) and Baines (Hist. Lanc., vol. iv. p. 211) erroneously place it in 1629, but Dr. Leigh continued rector there till 1639. Canon Baines tells us that Moreton was also rector of Standish, and afterwards chaplain to the Lord Keeper; but there is no record of his having ever paid first-fruits as rector of Standish, and his appointment to that parish is very doubtful. He was deprived of his preferments about the year 1643, but was reinstated after the Restoration; and dying 28th February, 1674, was buried at Sephton (Helsby's Ormerod's Cheshire, vol. iii. p. 51). His son William Moreton, born in 1641, became successively bishop of Kildare and of Meath.

[p422-2] Henry Bridgeman, third surviving son of the bishop, was entered as a Commoner of Oriel College, Oxford, in April, 1629, where he took his B.A. degree 20th October, 1632. He was elected fellow of Brazennose 6th December, 1633, and took his master's degree l6th June, 1635. In the following year he went on his travels into Scotland, Denmark, and North Germany. He resigned his fellowship in 1639 (Wood's Athenæ), on his acceptance of the rectory of Oddington near Oxford, which must have been his first preferment, as he was not then quite twenty-four years of age. He was made, soon afterwards, rector of Barrow, in Cheshire, to which he was instituted 16th December, 1639 (Helsby's Ormerod's Cheshire, vol. ii. p. 342), in the place of Dr. Moreton. He was admitted to the rectory of Bangor monachorum on 9th January,

[1]

[2]

Page:The History of the Church & Manor of Wigan part 2.djvu/243

Navigation menu

Search