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Guides used to take parties across the sands between
Hest Bank and Kent’s Bank; the distance travelled- at low water, of course-
being something like eight miles. In 1857, when the Furness railway was
opened, the services of these guides were no longer required. Leland,
who was authorised by Henry V111 to make an antiquarian expedition throughout
England and who apparently accomplished it between 1533 and 1539, refers
to the Cocker, to its dangerous sands and to a curious salt gathering
plan in vogue on the coast which the river traverses in its way to the
Lune estuary. He says:- "The Cocker river maketh no great course on he
come to the sands of Cockerham village……. upon the which sands I past
over Coker river once again, not without some feer of quicksands. At the
end of the sand I saw salt cootes where divers heaps of sand is taken
of salt strondys, out of the which by often weting with water they pike
out the saltness, and so the water is drived into a body and after sodde."
Camden, in his "Britannia", a work first published in 1586 says:- "in
many places on this coast one sees heaps of sand, on which they pour water
till they contract a saltness, which they afterwards boil over turf fires
to white salt."
The village of Cockerham- a small, quiet-looking place,
consisting of a few little, plain houses etc flanking part of a level,
winding lane- is about half a mile north-west of Cocker House Bridge.
The name Cockerham means a home or place of abode adjoining or not far
from the Cocker. Cockerham is a very old place. It is mentioned in Doomsday
Book as Cocreham, and as belonging to Roger de Poictou. The Lancastres,
barons of Kendal, were the owners of Cockerham shortly after the Norman
Conquest. The manor and church of Cockerham were given by William de Lancastre
to the canons of Leicester, in the latter half of the 12th
century.
In 1369 (Fair Day) Various men of Cockerham terrorised
the people and disturbed the peace.
On Fair Day 29th of June 1369, there came to the fair John de Derby (Canon
and Warden of Cockerham), John de Chacoumbe and various men of Cockerham,
with force and arms to seek a certain Thomas and maltreat him and this
to the terror of the people and disturbance of the peace.
From A History of Garstang by Dave Jones
The Abbot of St Mary, Leicester, had "free warren" granted
in the manor at the beginning of the 14th century. During the
same century the manor was given to the Abbott of Cockerham. In the course
of the 15th century (some reversion of interest or reclaim
of proprietary right having taken place) a release of claim in the manor
was made in favour of the then Abbot. In 1597 the customs of the manor
were farmed by John Calvert, gentleman, of Cockerham, who died in 1620,
seized of the manor and rectory. A daughter of his became the grandmother
of a man whose skull figures curiously in the legendary lore of Lancashire.
She married Roger Downes, who settled at Wardley Hall, about seven miles
west f Manchester, at the beginning of the Civil War in the 17th
century, and who was vice-Chamberlain of Chester to William, Earl of Derby,
etc. Their grandson (Roger Downes)- a courtier in the time of Charles
11- had his head cut off, during a brawl on London Bridge; the head (so
say tradition) being sent to his sisters, at Wardley Hall, where it was
preserved, and where it became the subject of the strange legend of the
Wardley Hall skull- a skull which, as per the legend, would, if removed,
or thrown into a neighbouring pontl, or actually buried, return to the
Hall again, and which "never failed to punish the individual severely
who should dare to lay hands upon it with any such purpose" as that of
disturbing, taking away, or destroying it. This skull- anyhow- is now,
I believe, preserved in a locked aperture at Wardley Hall. Reverting to
Cockerham manor, it was, some time after the death of John Calvert, owned
by the Charteris family. In or about 1798 it was sold, by Lord Wemyss,
to four conjoint lords of the manor, whose present successors, manorially,
are Colonel C. H. Bird, Crookhey Hall, Cockerham, who holds two lordship
rights; Lieutenant Greene, Whittington Hall, near Kirkby Lonsdale; and
Mr J. Clarke, of Summerhill, Newton-in-Cartmel. By the inhabitants of
the district these gentlemen are designated ‘the Lords of Cockerham".
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And ye said jurors doe
further say upon their Oathes, that ye Parish Church of Cockerham, within
ye said Hundred of Loinsdale and County of Lance., is a Vicaradge Presentative,
John Calvert, Esquire, a Papist Delinquent, Patron . They ye Tythes of
Corne and graine within ye whole parish are Impropriate to ye said Mr
Calvert and to Mr Bradshaw, another Delinquent papist, worth one hundred
and sixteene pounds per annum vizt Eighty pounds per annum in Ellel, sixteene
pounds per annum in Cockerham and Twenty pounds per annum in Fforton;
And that there is another Tyth of Corn in pt of Thornham, within ye said
parish, impropriate to ye said Mr Bardshaw, worth Ten pounds per annum;
And ye said parish of Cockerham doth containe within it yeseverall Townshipps,
hamletts or Villages of ye severall distances from ye said Parish Church
heretofore following, vizt, Cockerham, where ye Church is seated; Ellel,
distant as a foredsaid Three miles; Fforton, one mile; part of Cleveley
Three myles; part of Thurnham Three myles; one howse in Lower Qyersdale,vizt,
Robert Websters, of ye Holmes; And that there is belonging to ye said
Church a Vicarage house and Six acres and a halfe of Glebe land and also
Tyth of Salt and Wooll, lambs and pigge, Goose, hay,hempe, flax, and small
Tyths, in most of ye places within ye said Vicaradge; That there is some
Composition Rent from Thurnhal Hall, about Six shillings per annum. That
ye proffitts thereof were anciently reputed to bee about Sixty pounds
per annum, but by reason of ye decay of Sheepe ye said Vicaradge hath
beene ffarmed ye last yeare for Thirty five pounds. And ye said Jurors
likewise say That ye said Parish of Cockerham doth containe within it
ye severall Chappelles distant from their said parish Church as followeth,vizt,
Ellel Three myles, Shierside Three miles; And that ye Incumbent officiating
att ye said Parish Church for ye Tyme being is one Mr Thomas Smith during
ye Sequestracon of Mr William Calvert, ye vicar, for delinquency. And
ye said jurors further say that ye said severall Chappells belonging to
ye said parish Church of Cockerham are provided for as follows; vizt,
ffifty pounds per annum allowed by Order from ye Committees of plundered
Ministers to ye said Chappell of Ellel; ye Minister there Mr Peter Atkinson;
And that ye said Chappell of Shiersdie hath no certain Maintenance to
their knowledge, the Minister there for ye Tyme being Mr John Ffisher."
The 17th century church at Cockerham was superseded
(with the exception of the tower, which is still standing) by the present
church, which was built in 1814. It is a very plain, solitary strong-looking
structure. In the tower there is a very good peal of bells, which, according
to tradition came from Cockersand Abbey. But this tradition is not correct.
There may have been in the tower, for a time after the break up of Cockersand
Abbey, one or ore bells which originally came from that place; but the
present peal- six bells, the tenor being 11cwt- was cast, in 1748, by
Mr A. Rudhall of Gloucester. The bells were rehung by Taylor, of Loughborough,
in 1888 and they are now in capital order. They bear the following legends:-
Treble "Peace and good neighbourhood. A.R. 1748". 2, "Prosperity to the
parish A.R. 1748". 3, "We were all cast at Gloucester, by Abel Rudhall,
1748". 4, "Robert Gardner, Edward France, Robert Fell, Stephen
Bond, churchwardens. A.R. 1748" 5, "The Rev Mr Thomas Winder, Vicar.
A.R. 1748. Tenor, "I to the Church the living call, and to the grave do
summon all. 1748".
The general body of the Church internally is large- apparently
very spacious for a country place- but it has a somewhat dull heavy look.
The chancel, however, is spacious, ornately effective, pleasantly bright.
There was once a very singular dispute about a Rood (a crucifix or image
of our Saviour) ordered made, but not approved of, for Cockerham Church;
and strange to say, the particulars of this dispute I have obtained not
from any record or tradition at Cockerham but by means of a communication
made by a Furness gentleman, and published many years ago in a Westmorland
periodical! The writer states that in the eraly part of this century there
were two curious old books chained in the warden’s seat, in Cartmel church-
they may be somewhere in the place still- and that one of them contained
the following :-
" A story of a Roode Set up in :Lankashire. In this
visitation of Bishop Boner ( a bad 16th century English prelate)….
you see how the Bishop tooke on for not setting up the roode, and ringing
the bells at Hadham. Ye heard also of the precept, which commanded in
every parish a Roode to be erected both well favoured and of an able Stature.
By the occasion thereof, it cometh in minde (and not out of place) to
story likewise what happened in a certain Towne in Lankashire near to
Lancaster called Cockram, where the Parishioners & Churchwardens having
the same time a like charge for the erecting of a roode in their parish
church, had made their bargain & were at a price with one that could
cunninglie Karve and paint such idols, for the framing of their Roode;
who according to his promise, made them one, & set it up in their
Church. This done, he demanded his money. But they misliking his workmanship
refused to pay him, whereupon he arrested them, and the matter was brought
before the Maior of Lancaster, who was a very meete man for such a purpose,
and an old favourer of the Gospell, which is rarer in that countrie. Then
the carver began to declare how they covenanted with him for the making
of a Roode, with the appurtenances ready carved and set up in their church
which he according to his promise had done, and now demanding his money,
they refused to pay him. Is this true, quoth the Maior to the Wardens?
Yes, Sir, said they. And why deo you not pay the poore man his due, quoth
he? And it please you Maister Maior (quoth they) because the Roode we
had before was a well favoured man, and he promised to make us such another.
But this that he hath set us up now is the worst favoured thing that ever
you set your eies on, gaping and grinning in such sort, that none of our
children dare once looke him in the face, or come neere him. The Maior
thinking that it was good enough for that purpose if it had been worse,
My Masters (quoth he) hosoever the roofe like you, the poore mans labour
hath been never the less, and it is a pittie that he should have any hindrance
or loss thereby. Therefore I will tell you what you shall doe: Pay him
the money ye promised him, and go you wais home and looke on it, and if
it will not serve for a God, make no more ado, but clap a pairs of horns
on his head, and so will he make an excellent Devill. This the Parishioners
tooke well in worth, the poore man had his money, and divers laughed well
thereat, but so not the babylonish Priests."
In old times, notices which we should nowadays deem very
peculiar and out of place were put up on the door of Cockerham Church.
And some of them, in respect to bad spelling, exceeded even that wonderful
production- before wuoted- of the clerk to the notable minister specialised
by Canon Parkinson in "The Old Church Clock". For instance, at the beginning
of 1824 a notice, of which the following is a copy, was fixed to the door
of Cockerham Church, for the information of those who attended the services
there:- "To be sould By ockso at they house of---- in Pilling Stake pool
6 February 1824 they sale to begin at Twelve O’clock at noon all the stock
of Katel con sisting of 2 good work hors his and 1 young mare rising 3
years old and 1 foile 2 spring calvers cows and 2 draps and 2 wite face
sheeps and hall sorts of husberny gears such as carts and weles plu and
hares and house sold furturner.- Thomas--------, Pilling, ckinhearer."
The present Vicarage, which stands on a pleasant eminence
at the north end of Cockerham village, was built in 1843, when the Rev.
John Dodson was the vicar. It is situated 70 or 80 yards west of the site
of the old vicarage house, which it superseded- a house the materials
of which were, by order of Mr Dodson, carted away to Tong Moor, in Littledale,
where he utilised them in the construction of a residence. Not far from
the old vicarage, on the north west side, there was a windmill, which
occupied a prominent position, and could be seen for miles. Indeed, its
position was so prominent and exposed that occasionally the concern got
more wind than was good for it. In January 1802, a gale made the sails
whirl round so rapidly that the friction, which ensured set on fire the
mill, which was gutted.
In 1849 another mill, built on or near the same site,
was burnt from a supposed similar cause. A third mill was then built,
but it was pulled down many years ago. When Mr Dodson was appointed the
vicar, in 1835, Cockerham was a "lively" place. Horse races were periodically
run; bowling was freely indulged in on some enclosed ground opposite the
old Manor Inn; cock fighting was in vogue; and every fortnight there was
coursing. Mr Dodson who was a very earnest, serious man set his face against
these things, deeming even the most innocent of them (bowling) a source
of gambling or inebriety; and eventually he succeeded in putting an end
to the whole lot.
In 1850 he resigned his vicarial position at Cockerham
without assigning any reason to the parishioners for such step, and went
to live at Tong Moor, Littledale- `at the residence previously mentioned,
which was a very good one; and in this lonely, upland region he built
a Dissenting chapel, apparently of the Independent order, and regularly
conducted service in it himself. After leading this ort of out-of-the-way
ministerial life for some years, he went to the South of England, and
there he died. The present vicar of Cockerham is the Ven. Archdeacon A.F.
Clarke.
At the south end of the village of Cockerham there is
a good school, which was built in 1829 and to which additions have since
been made. In the front wall of the master’s house, directly adjoining
the school, there is a stone which bears the date 1681. This stone was
brought from the old school (the predecessor of the present one) and the
date on it has been generally understood to refer to the time when such
school, which stood in the north east corner of the churchyard, was built.
But that school was erected some time earlier. At an inquiry into the
charities of the parish of Cockerham, held on the 11th of May,
1899, it was stated by Assistant Commissioner Cardew that the earliest
document relating to Cockerham School Charity was under the episcopal
seal of the Bishop of Chester, that it was dated 1679 and that it cited
that there had been a school house built, and also a school in the north
east corner of the churchyard.
A legend says that the Devil once alighted in Cockerham
Churchyard, afterwards wrought considerable havoc in the district, then
had a peculiarly severe encounter with the master of the school, and was
at last completely foiled by that individual, Sundry doggerel verses,
said to have been the production of "some local rhymster", describe with
considerable detail the whole affair. After referring to the arrival of
his sable majesty, to the fear produced and mischief wrought by him, the
rhymster says that the people at length met, and appointed the schoolmaster
to try his skill, and see if he could not " the devil bind faster". With
pride the master accepted the appointment, and (so says the rhymster):-
One day in the school, in the corner of the churchyard,
The windows all fastened, the doors all barred,
With the gypsies’ blarney, and the witches; cant,
He drew him forth with his horrible rant.
Terror seized the master as soon as he had done this,
and he was informed that, if he did not by his "lore"- by three questions-
entangle the sable one thus met with, the latter would diabolically transform,
mangle, and fly away with him. The schoolmaster thereupon set to work
in the interrogative line. He first asked the devil how many dewdrops
there were on some adjoining hedges. The number was given. Then a question
was put as to how many stalks there were in a particular wheat field.
"His Majesty" operated upon the field with a scythe, and told the number
of the stalks. The Cockerham dominie had now got into a very tight corner,
and this is what the rhymster says-
Now the poor fellow’s was a pitiful case.
As plain might be seen from his long length of face.
"Now, make me, dear sir, a rope of your sand,
Which will bear washing in Cocker, and not lose a
strand."
The devil and mate then went down to the strand,
In a jiffy they twisted a fine rope of sand,
And dragged it along with them over the land;
But when they brought the rope to be washed,
To atoms it went- the rope was all smashed.
The devil was foiled, wroth, and gave him a shaking;
Up he flew to the steeple- his frame a;; a-quaking,
With one horrid frig- his mind very unwilling,
He stride to the brig o’er Broadfleet at Pilling.
And so the Cockerham people got shut of Dabol; but cynics
hint that he still occasionally drops in, and bothers folk there, notwithstanding
the legendary exorcism. A legend somewhat to the foregoing is associated
with other country districts. It transpired during the inquiry in 1899,
previously mentioned, that the late Mr John Mason, of Cockerham, left
a charity of £10 per annum for the education of bastard children in the
parish; that the charity, consisting opf certain land at Skerton, near
Lancaster, realised but £7.10s a year, less commission; that an arrangement
had been made whereby, when there were few illegitimate children in the
parish (there were only two in it at the time of the inquiry), the master
of Cockerham school could pay half of the school fees with the money;
and that the managers of the school did not deal with, in fact kept aloof
from, this charity "because of its character".
Cockerham Hall is about 300 yards west of the Vicarage.
It is now a farmhouse. Originally this Hall was a private residence. In
1712, Mr Walter Frost lived in it. Under date October 21st,
in the year named Thomas Tyldesley says in his diary:- "Meet Mrs and two
girlies at Cock-ham Hall, to see Sisr. Frost very ill". There used to
be two public houses in Cockerham- one in the middle and the other at
the north end of the village. The former (Manor Inn) was done away with
as a public house, and set apart for private use, a few years ago; but
periodically- when important and well-known Cockerham horse sales take
place- its old functions are revived for the refreshment of genuinely-
interested visitors etc. The present inn at the north end was formally
called the Plough; but has now taken the name and is kept by the person
who was the landlord of the extinguished public house.
Cockerham village is located near the summit of a ridge
of moderate altitude, from which there is a good view of the south western
parts of the parish, the whole of the Pilling district, Fleetwood etc,
as well as the waters of the sea stretching away to the west. The parish
includes the township of Cockerham and parts of Holleth, Forton, Clevely,
Ellel and Pilling; the total area of it being 14,750 acres. During the
present century its population has been almost stationery. In 1801 it
was 714; in 1871 it was 803; when the census was taken in 1891 it stood
at 705; and it will not be much different now.
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